Sports Betting Industry Pumps Millions into Alabama Legislative Races

Alabama held its Republican primaries last Tuesday, and the results revealed something beyond the usual intraparty jockeying: a well-funded super PAC with direct financial ties to DraftKings and FanDuel finished the night with an impressive win rate after spending more than $9.3 million across 17 contests. 

The group, called the American Conservative Fund, backed candidates it believes will be receptive to legalizing a lottery, casinos, and online sports wagering when the Legislature reconvenes. Of the 17 races it entered, at least 12 went the PAC's way.  

Its most painful setback came in a Mobile-area Senate district where former lawmaker Rusty Glover turned back businessman Doug Harwell despite the PAC pouring more than $2.2 million into Harwell's campaign. 

The spending reflects a calculated gamble by the sports betting industry, which has watched Alabama repeatedly refuse to budge on gambling legalization. Residents don't have legal access to the best sports betting sites.

A 2024 bill that would have created a lottery and allowed sports wagering died in the Senate by a single vote. A follow-up effort in 2025 also stalled, with the Senate's top Republican acknowledging the chamber simply lacked the support to move a comprehensive package forward. 

Rather than hiring more lobbyists after the election, the gambling industry has moved to reshape the candidate pool before one vote was cast. Even with its stumble in Senate District 34, the broader results gave the industry tangible evidence that primary-stage spending can move the needle in one of the most resistant states in the country. 

Illinois shows a different motive: protecting an existing market from new taxes 

Alabama isn't the only state where the American Conservative Fund and its affiliated groups are active, but in Illinois, the industry's calculus runs in the opposite direction. There, sports betting has already been legalized, and the fight now centers on how heavily the state can tax it. 

After the Illinois sports betting market introduced a per-wager tax structure last fall, sports betting volume in the state dropped roughly 15% year over year. Unlike most states that tax winnings, Illinois taxes each individual bet.  

On top of the state-level assessment, Chicago added a separate 10.25% tax on sports wagering under a local licensing ordinance that industry groups have already taken to court. 

The response has followed the same electoral intervention model seen in Alabama and Georgia. American Future, a super PAC funded through DK Crown Holdings, a DraftKings subsidiary, deployed $1.2 million in Illinois Democratic legislative primaries, making it one of the largest outside spenders in those contests.  

The PAC's largest beneficiary received more than $263,000. In Chicago's 40th District, the group spent more than $220,000 backing an entrenched incumbent against a democratic socialist challenger who had publicly committed to taxing large corporations. 

The challenger won, anyway. In mid-March, Miguel Alvelo-Rivera defeated incumbent Jaime Andrade in the Democratic primary despite the industry's backing of his opponent.