The two largest sports gambling franchises in the United States, DraftKings and FanDuel, are quietly becoming major sources of campaign funds for candidates in the 2026 midterm elections.

The story was broken last week by investigative reporter Judd Legum at Popular Information. Legum analyzed Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings made public in January and found the two companies have piled millions of dollars into political action committees (PACs):

• DraftKings donated $500,000 to the Senate Leadership Fund in December 2025
• DraftKings is the sole donor to the new PAC, Win for America, with a $2 million donation in November, 2025
• Win for America then donated $500,000 to the American Conservative Fund
• Win for America then donated $450,000 to the newly-formed American Future PAC
• FanDuel also donated $500,000 to the Senate Leadership Fund in December 2025
• The same day, FanDuel donated $500,000 to the Congressional Leadership Fund
• The same day, FanDuel donated $500,000 each to the Senate Majority PAC and the House Majority PAC.

FanDuel has matched donations to Democratic and Republican PACs, whereas to date, DraftKings has donated only to Republican PACs, according to Legum’s reporting. Prior to last year, DraftKings’ national political spending was limited to a one-time $500,000 donation to the Republican National Committee. DraftKings also donated $482,000 to Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration, according to Legum.

Why the sudden surge in political donations from DraftKings and FanDuel? Popular Information lays out some of the pending federal issues motivating the big gambling franchises.

A Spike in Problem Gambling

Intuit Credit Karma released a study last year showing the toll legalized gambling is taking on households. They found that 17% of gambling families are facing bankruptcy due to gambling. Gambling is causing families to miss scheduled payments, max out credit cards, rack up late payment charges, and struggle to pay for basic necessities.

Gambling Scandals Involving Famous Athletes

On October 23, 2025, the FBI announced charges against 34 people, including National Basketball Association (NBA) players, coaches and personnel. The fraud is described in detail by The New York Times.

Last month, 39 players from 17 NCAA basketball teams were charged in a point-shaving scheme that involved dozens of rigged games between 2023 and 2025. According to a write-up by ESPN, players were “offered bribes ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 to intentionally underperform.” The scheme’s organizers won millions of dollars on the rigged games, prosecutors allege.

The Desire to Blunt Regulation and Oversight

Of major concern to the gambling syndicates is the SAFE Bet Act, which would regulate sports betting at the federal level. The bill would ban advertising gambling during live sporting events, prohibit bets from people under the age of 21, and restrict incentives used to induce people to open accounts.

The bill would also require the gambling syndicates to fund treatment for gambling addiction through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA. The agency was substantially defunded by the Trump Administration, with its budget absorbed by Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for a Healthy America (HAHA).

The Move Into Prediction Markets

As we have reported here at AddictionNews, the big gambling syndicates, including FanDuel and DraftKings, are concerned about prediction markets offering sports gambling contracts. Prediction markets are being sued by state governments, but claim they cannot be regulated by states because they are federally regulated by the Commodities Futures Trading Board. So, naturally, the gambling franchises now want to be considered prediction markets and avoid state regulation.

The expansion of DraftKings and FanDuel into prediction markets is expected to unleash a new wave of problem gambling in the U.S. People will be able to wager on everything from the Academy Awards to the outcome of elections. This wagering is now being facilitated through a deal with Xfinity/Comcast, allowing betting through the TV screen during live events.

Now DraftKings and FanDuel, the same folks who brought voice remote wagering to TV screens everywhere, are placing their own bets on the 2026 midterm elections. What are the odds the SAFE Bet Act never gets out of committee? You can probably wager on that.

Written by Steve O’Keefe. First published February 10, 2026.

Sources:

“DraftKings and FanDuel spending millions on 2026 midterms, new filings reveal,” Popular Information, February 2, 2026.

“The high stakes of sports betting: financial fallout and family strain,” Intuit Credit Karma, February 6, 2025.

“Many college players among dozens charged in point-shaving plot,” ESPN, January 15, 2026.

“Many college players among dozens charged in point-shaving plot,” The New York Times, November 25, 2025.

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