DraftKings, FanDuel, and other online sports betting companies have significantly increased their spending on the U.S. midterm elections, reaching at least $72 million so far. This surge in spending is highlighted by new campaign election data. As prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket draw attention and create competition, the online sports gambling industry faces challenges from these alternative gambling platforms, which received support during the Trump administration.
These companies have become the third-largest corporate donors in the U.S. midterms, following the cryptocurrency and technology sectors. Public Citizen, a corporate watchdog, estimates this, as they aim to elect candidates friendly to their causes. Online betting platforms such as DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics, and the UK-based Bet365 are channeling funds into Win for America, a super political action committee (PAC). This committee allocates money to two affiliate PACs, American Future and the American Conservative Fund, which focus on Democratic and Republican state races respectively.
Super PACs can accept and spend unlimited donations from corporations and individuals to support specific candidates. However, they cannot coordinate directly with campaigns or donate directly to them. Launched late last year, Win for America’s spending levels are unprecedented for this industry, according to Public Citizen.
“Win for America is ramping up to be another corporate money juggernaut,” said Rick Claypool, a research director for the nonprofit research group.
Both Win for America and FanDuel did not comment, while DraftKings, Fanatics, and Bet365 did not respond to comment requests. Although supporting candidates does not guarantee legislative support, companies hope their financial contributions will yield positive outcomes eventually. The impact of this funding is evident in some state races.
In Georgia, Win for America spent over $12 million through the Republican-focused American Conservative Fund and Democrat-focused American Future PACs, as the legislature considers gambling legalization. The industry-supported candidates won most of the 34 legislative races they entered, as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Win for America is also heavily investing in Pennsylvania races, where there is a push to increase taxes on online sports betting to fund public transportation. Federal election records show that the industry initially provided $43 million in contributions before adding another $29 million in the second quarter. This amount may not cover all donations since federal records don’t include all state spending or allocations to dark money groups.
In 2021, DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics, and BetMGM formed the Sports Betting Alliance, a trade group advocating to maintain legal online gaming across the U.S. BetMGM has not contributed to the super PAC. DraftKings donated at least $34 million to Win for America, FanDuel provided $27 million, while Bet365 and Fanatics each contributed $5.5 million in this election cycle. Bet365 is contributing through its U.S. subsidiary, Hillside (Shared Services US) LLC.
The 2018 Supreme Court decision, which overturned the federal sports betting ban, has seen 39 states and the District of Columbia legalize sports betting, with 33 allowing online betting, according to the American Gaming Association. The industry has steadily increased its lobbying efforts in Congress. OpenSecrets, a campaign finance watchdog, found that FanDuel spent $1.1 million on federal lobbying last year, a significant increase, while DraftKings more than doubled its spending, reaching $900,000.