More than $72 million already spent in midterm elections by sports betting industry

Online sports betting companies are starting to become a major player in the 2026 midterm elections. Recent estimates have bettors pouring in more than $72 million into races across the country as the emerging trend from prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket are bringing in fresh competition and scrutiny to online betting. 

FanDuel, DraftKings, Fanatics and UK-based bet365 have helped build the industry to become the third-largest corporate donor in the U.S. midterms behind crypto and technology. Collectively, the sites have steered more than $72 million toward Win for America, a super political action committee (PAC), that has become sort of a political valve, funneling money to both Democratic and Republican state races. 

What they're saying:

"Win for America is ramping up to be another corporate money juggernaut," said Rick Claypool, a research director for the nonprofit research group. He compared ​it to the artificial intelligence and crypto sectors, which have each spent more than $100 million on the midterms so far.

By the numbers:

Win for America received $43 million in the first quarter and another $29 million in the second, according to federal election records. 

DraftKings has contributed at least $34 million to the super PAC, followed by FanDuel with #27 million and bet365 and Fanatics have each given $5.5 million in donations in this two-year cycle. 

The prediction market

Sports betting has expanded rapidly since a 2018 Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for legalization. There are now 39 states and Washington, D.C. that allow some form of wagering, according to the American Gaming Association. 

The backstory:

New platforms and competition in the prediction markets, such as Kalshi and Polymarket, are also beginning to gain traction. These are sites that allow people to buy and sell binary "yes" or "no" contracts based on the outcome of almost any event you can imagine, from football games to elections. 

Big picture view:

All have combined to make the sports betting industry a new player in elections. According to OpenSecrets, FanDuel has spent $1.1 million on federal lobbying last year and DraftKings have doubled their own spending to about $900,000.

 

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