02 October 2026
Sports betting and gambling companies poured a record $72 million into U.S. midterm election campaigns, a nearly fourfold increase from the previous cycle, according to figures analyzed by Reuters. As the industry expands and new markets open up, companies are deploying unprecedented sums to shape legislation and elevate their status.
Reuters found that DraftKings provided the largest contribution by far, giving more than $34 million in this cycle. FanDuel, vaulting from fourth to second, contributed over $27 million. Win for America, a nonprofit that supports legalization efforts, funneled more than $12 million towards Georgia's 34 legislative races to aid candidates who back legalized sports betting in the state.
The $72 million figure is part of an explosive spending surge by companies across the economy this election cycle, up from $310 million in company donations just four years ago, according to the analysis. In the first six months of 2026 alone, corporate America donated a record $646 million to U.S. political campaigns, with online companies driving the growth.
With the Midwest alone expected to move from $2 billion to $30 billion in annual legal sports betting revenue by 2030, companies are jockeying to secure favorable regulations as new markets open. "[Sports betting] was viewed as a niche group. It is now showing itself as a relatively major player," said Joni Swanson, editor of the OpenSecrets political news outlet.
The Sports Betting Alliance (SBA), formed in 2021 by DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics and BetMGM to move the industry's legislative objectives, was created to lobby Congress and state legislatures on reform, including mandatory FATCA tax reporting and the Safe Sports Betting Act, which would establish guardrails for online sports betting in the U.S.
As of September 2026, the SBA disclosed 72 lobbyists in its ranks. The two biggest firms in the industry, DraftKings and FanDuel, each reported spending approximately $1 million on federal lobbying in the first half of 2023, an increase of more than 60% over the second half of 2022, according to OpenSecrets. "We must ensure that the free and fair legalization of safe, regulated sports betting for all Americans, including those across the Midwest, is a reality," said Jon Lee, SBA executive director.
The Midwest regulatory landscape is rapidly evolving, said lawyer and gambling expert Alex Weisman, an associate at CKR Law LLP. In Indiana, for example, lawmakers voted this year to legalize mobile and retail sports wagering.
"States are interested in tax revenue and the possibility of increased revenue from Vegas or Atlantic City," he explained. "In addition, states are thinking about the income that might be generated from local groups that wish to manage sports wagering."
Indiana, for example, would generate approximately $120 million in tax money from 2023 to 2026 if it allowed sports wagering. In the Midwest, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, and Maryland all aim to legalize and control internet gambling by the end of 2023, while legalizing in person is already underway.
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According to Reuters, online sports betting firms have already poured roughly $76 million into the November 3 midterm elections, with crypto, online betting and AI responsible for over $344 million, more than half of all donations.
Dwelling on the flurry of bills recently introduced that target insider trading in prediction markets, one notable issue is the legalization of sports betting in the United States. Kalshi, a prediction market, has spent $990,000 directly on lobbying in the first half of 2026, a figure not far from the $1 million it spent in all of 2025, according to CNBC. In the first half of 2026, the American Gaming Association spent $1.39 million on lobbying efforts.
Bills intending to address insider trading on prediction markets and to restrict event contracts involving sports, elections, and acts of war have been introduced by legislators in 2026. According to OpenSecrets, Kalshi, Polymarket, and the Coalition for Prediction Markets have spent at least $3 million on lobbying and campaign donations thus far in 2026 at the federal and state levels.
Kalshi contributed $28,000 to 14 state Democratic Parties and $3,000 to the Florida Democratic Party. Kalshi also contributed $100,000 to the Republican Governors Association and $100,000 to the Republican State Leadership Committee. Kalshi gave $147,500 to the Republican Attorneys General Association, and $170,000 to the Democratic Attorneys General Association.
By September 2026, Kalshi will have had a registered lobbyist in at least 41 states, and the Coalition for Prediction Markets, which attempts to form a coalition of stakeholders, will have contributed $5,800 to lawmakers and spent $100,750 on lobbying expenditures.
Online sports betting, which reached $290 billion in 2021, is projected to double by 2027 and reach $643 billion by 2036, according to a 2022 study by UBS, a Swiss-based global financial services company, according to the study's methodologies and forecasts.
The unprecedented financial flows by gambling and online betting firms into the U.S. political process aren't incidental; they represent a broader gambit to secure favorable regulations, establish themselves as prominent political players, and control the shape of the fast-expanding sports betting economy. Gaming companies are seeking to establish themselves as mainstream corporate voices and to unravel restrictions on gambling that have endured for generations.