By Rajwa Quasim
Online sports betting companies have poured at least $72 million ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, as per the latest campaign finance data cited by Reuters. The sports betting industry is the third largest donor in this election cycle, trailing Crypto and Technology. This move comes as lawmakers debate on stricter regulations on gambling.
Much of that money is flowing through Win for America, a new super PAC (Political Action Committee) backed by online sportsbooks, DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics and UK-based bet365. Win for America funds two affiliated PACs: American Future, which supports Democratic candidates in primaries, and American Conservative Fund, which backs Republicans. The spending is already reshaping individual state races.
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In Ohio, American Conservative Fund has spent roughly $1million on ads across five contested Ohio House Republican primaries – cleveland.com reports. The group is backing up three open seat candidates while running ad against two sitting incumbents. One of them is State Rep. Gary Click, who recently introduced legislation that would ban Ohioans from placing sports bets through their mobile phones. An industry trade group The Sports Betting Alliance (formed by DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics and BetMGM in 2021) gave $150,000 to V-PAC (Victors not Victims) in January supporting candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, adding to $500,000. It was given the PAC last year.
According to Public Citizen, win for America has overseen a level of political spending that is unprecedented for the industry. “Win for America is ramping up to be another corporate money juggernaut,” said Rick Claypool, a research director for the nonprofit research group. He further added that cryptocurrency and tech sectors had poured more than $100 million each into the 2026 midterm elections so far.
Super PACs can raise unlimited funds from corporations and individuals. They can also spend without limits to support or oppose political candidates, but they are prohibited from coordinating directly with campaigns or donate directly to them.
The PAC has spent more than $12 million in Georgia state alone.
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The record shows that DraftKings has contributed at least $34 million to Win for America during the current two-year cycle, making it one of the largest donors. It has also contributed at least $1 million to other political committees. FanDuel contributed $27 million to Win for America and $2 million outside of Win for America. Meanwhile, Bet365 (through its U.S. subsidiary- Hillside LLC) and Fanatics donated $5.5 million each.
A landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2018 had struck down federal ban that prevented most states from legalizing sports betting. Soon after the removal of the ban, states and District of Columbia legalized sports wagering in some form. Around 33 states permit online betting, as per American Gaming Association. This resulted in betting industry lobbying the congress to influence lawmakers in recent years.