Online sports betting operators, led by DraftKings and FanDuel, have collectively directed at least $72 million into U.S. midterm election efforts to date, according to the most recent campaign finance filings. The wave of contributions coincides with growing attention to prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket, which industry participants view as fresh competition to traditional online sportsbooks.
Much of the industry cash has been funneled into a single vehicle - Win for America - a super political action committee that aggregates corporate donations and deploys them to support state-level candidates. Win for America has, in turn, apportioned funds to two affiliated PACs with distinct partisan focuses: American Future, which targets Democratic state races, and the American Conservative Fund, which targets Republican state contests. The structure permits substantial spending in state contests while maintaining separation from direct campaign coordination.
Public Citizen, the corporate-watching nonprofit, estimates that the online sports betting sector has become the third-largest corporate donor to the midterms, behind the crypto and technology industries. The scale of contributions from the sector is unprecedented, driven in significant part by a concentrated push through the Win for America apparatus.
Win for America first began operating late last year, Public Citizen says, and the super PAC has rapidly scaled its activity. Industry giving to the super PAC reached $43 million in the first quarter of this election cycle and another $29 million in the second quarter, according to federal filings. Those federal totals do not capture every dollar spent on state races or funds routed to nonprofit groups that are not required to disclose their donors.
Industry representatives have not broadly commented on the spending. Win for America and FanDuel declined to comment when contacted. DraftKings, Fanatics and UK-based bet365 did not respond to requests for comment. Polymarket and Kalshi also did not immediately respond to requests for comment about their role in the broader market landscape.
Where the money is going
Campaign finance records indicate Win for America has been active in multiple states where legislative outcomes could affect the sports betting industry. In Georgia, for example, Win for America channelled more than $12 million into state legislative contests via its two affiliate PACs. Those funds supported 34 candidates ahead of the state primary and, as reported in May, all but two of those backed candidates prevailed.
Records show heavy spending in Pennsylvania as well, where a legislative push included proposals to raise taxes on the online sports betting industry to fund public transportation. The industry has invested in races where lawmakers could determine tax and regulatory policies that would shape operators' margins and state revenue outcomes.
At the company level, federal filings document the scale of individual contributions: DraftKings has given at least $34 million to Win for America, FanDuel at least $27 million, and both bet365 and Fanatics at least $5.5 million each in this two-year cycle. DraftKings also provided at least $1 million to other committees, while FanDuel reported an additional $2 million in separate donations. Bet365's contributions are reported through its U.S. subsidiary, Hillside (Shared Services US) LLC. Not all prominent industry participants have donated to the super PAC: BetMGM has not donated to Win for America, according to filings.
Tools of political engagement
Super PACs are political committees that may accept unlimited donations from corporations and individuals and spend unlimited sums to support or oppose specific candidates. They are, however, prohibited from coordinating directly with campaigns or contributing directly to candidates' campaign committees. Win for America is using that legal framework to build a concentrated campaign influence operation across state contests.
The sports betting companies also coordinate their policy efforts through trade groups. DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics and BetMGM formed the Sports Betting Alliance in 2021, intended to lobby Congress and state legislatures to maintain a favorable legal environment for online gaming. Separately from electoral contributions, the industry has been increasing its lobbying expenditures on federal matters. OpenSecrets, a campaign finance watcher, found that FanDuel spent $1.1 million on federal lobbying last year - characterized in filings as seven times more than in 2024 - and that DraftKings more than doubled its annual lobbying spending to roughly $900,000.
Competition and uncertainty
Industry observers and corporate watchdogs have compared the betting sector's midterm spending to other high-spend industries. Rick Claypool, a research director at Public Citizen, said Win for America is positioning itself as a formidable corporate spending force similar to sectors such as artificial intelligence and crypto, both of which have already exceeded $100 million in midterm spending by some estimates.
At the same time, the rise of prediction markets presents what some in the industry consider a competitive threat. Operators are paying close attention as new market models attract attention from regulators and, in some cases, the administration. How that dynamic will influence the business models and regulatory responses for online sportsbooks remains an area of active attention for political and industry actors.
As the election season continues, the sports betting industry's concentrated use of a super PAC and rising lobbying outlays signal that companies see political engagement as a key lever to shape state and federal policy. Whether that expenditure translates into favorable legislative outcomes for operators will depend on the electoral results and subsequent actions by the lawmakers who prevail.