Betting operators and prediction markets spent record amounts on campaign donations and lobbying

Casino operators and sports betting companies have spent record amounts on campaign donations and on lobbying in Washington thus far this year, hoping it will help win back millions of bettors and gambling dollars that prediction markets have lured away.

Sportsbook operators, including FanDuel and DraftKings, have funneled more than $80 million into state senate and congressional races, via Win for America, a PAC launched in November 2025. The casino industry's primary lobbying group, the American Gaming Association, has spent a record $2.06 million through September — the biggest lobbying spend by the group since 2013, when online gambling was reinstated after being banned in 2006.

Prediction markets and some of their executives have also been spending on local elections and on lobbying — primarily spending on the campaigns of politicians who oversee and shape their regulatory body, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Kalshi executives, including co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara, have contributed more than $1.6 million directly to campaigns and to PACs supporting both political parties — nearly as much as the $1.79 million, including $1.28 million to outside firms, the company has spent on lobbying thus far this year. Polymarket has spent $270,000 via outside lobbying firms this year, and has made a $1 million donation to a Democratic nonprofit, according to a private remittance document seen by Reuters. And a new PAC, Coalition for Prediction Markets, backed by Kalshi, along with prediction market operators Robinhood, Coinbase, Crypto.com, and Underdog have spent an additional $200,000.

"Kalshi's political giving reflects our strong relationships with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle," John Bivona, Kalshi's head of federal government relations, said in a statement, adding that their giving reflects the company's belief that keeping prediction markets safe "isn't a partisan issue."

Lobbying efforts are to "support the responsible development of federally regulated markets," a Coalition for Prediction Markets spokesperson said. Polymarket declined to comment, and FanDuel, DraftKings, and Win for America didn't respond to requests for comment.

Prediction market companies are fighting against several state attorneys general, who argue that the sites operate as illegal online gambling operations and should be shut down, limited to non-sports betting or regulated on a state-by-state basis instead of by the federal agency.

Sports betting companies are hoping to retain their footholds in more than 30 states amid new scrutiny of the industry. Some recent studies have highlighted addiction problems, and some organizations have raised alarm bells that the rise in youth gambling is a public health crisis, which has motivated policymakers to propose legislation to regulate sports betting.