- DraftKings and FanDuel have spent more than $8 million this year on election campaigns for at least 21 candidates in New York this year. Those campaigns include Gov. Kathy Hochul and Letitia James.
ALBANY, N.Y. – Super PACs backed by DraftKings and FanDuel have spent nearly $8.3 million in total on election campaigns of their own for at least 19 Democratic state legislators, two Assembly hopefuls, and the reelection campaigns of Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James.
Per New York Focus, the legal sports betting sites in New York have backed those campaigns through three super PACs: New York Future, Greater Empire State, and NY Families Together.
DraftKings and FanDuel are part of a group called the Sports Betting Alliance, which also includes other prominent sports betting brands like BetMGM, bet365, and Fanatics. The Alliance gave about $1.7 million to the PACs for Hochul and James.
Candidates That Gambling-Funded Super PACs Are Supporting
| Candidate | Position Campaigning For | Gambling-Funded Super PAC Supporting Them |
|---|---|---|
| Kathy Hochul | Governor | Greater Empire State (DGA super PAC; $1.2M from Sports Betting Alliance) |
| Letitia James | Attorney General | NY Families Together ($500K from Sports Betting Alliance) |
| Chris Ryan | State Senate, SD-50 | New York Future |
| Toby Ann Stavisky | State Senate, SD-11 | New York Future (~$240K since Sept. 1; also backed in primary) |
| Jessica Scarcella-Spanton | State Senate, SD-23 | New York Future (primary and general) |
| Monica Martinez | State Senate, SD-4 | New York Future |
| James Skoufis | State Senate, SD-42 | New York Future |
| Lea Webb | State Senate, SD-52 | New York Future |
| Michelle Hinchey | State Senate, SD-41 | New York Future |
| Rachel May | State Senate, SD-48 | New York Future |
| Joe Addabbo | State Senate, SD-15 | New York Future (primary only) |
| Bill Conrad | State Assembly, AD-140 | New York Future |
| Jen Lunsford | State Assembly, AD-135 | New York Future |
| Tommy John Schiavoni | State Assembly, AD-1 | New York Future |
| Pat Carroll | State Assembly, AD-96 | New York Future |
| Kwani O’Pharrow | State Assembly, AD-11 | New York Future |
| Judy Griffin | State Assembly, AD-21 | New York Future |
| Chris Eachus | State Assembly, AD-99 | New York Future |
| Erik Dilan | State Assembly, AD-54 | New York Future (primary only) |
| Jeff Dinowitz | State Assembly, AD-81 | New York Future (primary only) |
| Clyde Vanel | State Assembly, AD-33 | New York Future (primary only) |
| Karen Hoak | State Assembly, AD-149 (open seat) | New York Future (primary; $355K) |
| Nathaniel Hezekiah | State Assembly (open seat) | New York Future (primary) |
The industry’s $1.2 million to the super PAC backing Hochul’s reelection comes as her administration prepares new rules for sportsbooks.
Hochul proposed measures aimed at problem gambling earlier this year. Notably, the measures mandate that the betting platforms must identify potential problem gamblers and bans the sites from targeting players via artificial intelligence. The New York State Gaming Commission is likely to vote on Hochul’s measures in the next few months.
The proposals follow a state comptroller report that found calls to New York’s problem gambling hotline rose 8.5% from 2020 to 2025. Since 2022, mobile sports wagering has been the most common reason callers gave.
Why Are Gambling Companies Funding Super PACs in New York
The main reason super PACs backed by legal sports betting sites support these candidates is money. New York has been an extremely profitable market, with mobile sports betting platforms earning more than $8 billion in revenue since the state made mobile betting legal in 2022.
The spending is small compared to the revenue that the industry earns in the state.
Attorney General Letitia James, for example, has sued online prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket. Prediction markets are direct competitors to New York-regulated betting sites, so it is in their best interest to have the prediction markets removed from the market.
That cause is very important, but likely the main reason that sports betting sites are supporting super PACs backing various New York election candidates is to get in their good graces so that the lawmakers may eventually legalize online and mobile casino gambling.
Online casino gambling would be a second significant revenue stream that the sports betting platforms would be able to tap into. It is also the larger revenue stream per state.
According to the American Gaming Association, online sports betting generated roughly $16.4 billion and online casinos (iGaming) generated $10.74 billion in revenue in 2025. iGaming generated more than half the amount of revenue that online sports betting generated, and that was despite iGaming only being live in seven states in 2025 compared to 31 (plus Washington, D.C.) states with legal sports betting online.
Legal online casino gaming, which would bring online slots, blackjack and other casino games to New York, failed to advance earlier this year. The bill never made it out of the Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee.
Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky, a member of that committee, has received just under $240,000 in support from New York Future since Sept. 1. The super PAC also backed Sen. Joe Addabbo, the committee’s chair, in the June primary. Addabbo has introduced iGaming legislation in previous sessions.
