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State of Play’s TL;DR
- Driven by sports betting firms, corporate donations to political campaigns reached $646 million through June.
- That’s reportedly 40% higher than the entire amount donated from corporations during the 2024 presidential election.
Corporate political donations have reached a record $646 million in the 18 months through June, and online sports betting companies are a notable part of that surge.
According to a Public Citizen analysis, sports betting operators poured roughly $76 million into the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
It’s proof that major sportsbooks are becoming more active in campaign finance as policy battles expand across the US.
Top sportsbooks donated $29M to Win for America
Public Citizen said corporate giving so far this cycle is 40% higher than the amount spent during the entire 2024 presidential election cycle. The group’s analysis of Federal Election Commission filings found that crypto, online betting, and AI together accounted for $344 million, or more than half of all company donations tracked.
Among the sportsbook names mentioned were DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics, and bet365. The report said those four companies gave $29 million in the second quarter to Win for America, a sports industry super PAC.
Prediction market operator Polymarket was also listed. The report said Polymarket made a $10,000 donation in April to V-PAC: Victors, then a $1 million donation in June through its corporate parent to CLF PAC.
Public Citizen research director Rick Claypool called the pace of corporate spending “a flashing warning sign.”
“This is something as a functioning democracy we need to get under control.”
Corporate election donations have spiked since rules were eased
The $646 million figure does not capture the full picture. Public Citizen said its total excludes donations to dark money groups and some state and local race spending, meaning actual corporate political outlays are likely higher.
The report also places betting-company spending inside a broader trend that has accelerated since campaign finance restrictions were eased in 2010. Since then, companies have donated about $1.7 billion to US elections, with roughly a third of that arriving in the current cycle, according to the analysis.
Based on reporting by Dawn Kopecki for Reuters via U.S. News & World Report.
