Rideshare, Gambling Companies Lead Record $213 Million New York Lobbying Surge
New York lobbying spending hit a record $213.5 million in the first half of 2026, with gambling groups like the Sports Betting Alliance and Genting among the top spenders.
Lobbying spending in New York surged to a record $213.5 million in the first half of 2026, with ride-share and gambling companies among the biggest spenders trying to shape state policy. The figure, up 16% from the $184.1 million spent over the same period in 2025, was detailed in a report released this week by the state Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government.
Commission Executive Director Sanford Berland said the pace of spending has now outstripped 2025’s already record-setting totals in back-to-back reporting periods. The bulk of the year-over-year jump came from expenses rather than lobbyist compensation — direct expenses like advertising climbed by roughly $29.6 million, a 143.8% increase, while payments to professional lobbyists stayed essentially flat.
Gambling Interests Crack the Top 10
While insurance-reform coalition Citizens for Affordable Rates ($12.7 million) and rideshare giant Uber ($10.3 million) topped the spender list, gambling industry players were well represented further down the top 10. Genting New York LLC, which operates Resorts World Casino in New York City, paid $1.8 million to seven lobbyists during the period. The Sports Betting Alliance, the trade group representing mobile sportsbooks including DraftKings and FanDuel, also landed among the top spenders as it continues pushing its policy priorities in Albany.
The lobbying totals arrive alongside a broader wave of political spending from the sports betting industry heading into the midterms. DraftKings and FanDuel have funneled millions into New York Future, a political action committee that has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on polling and research for competitive state Assembly races, including payments to the Parkside Group, a firm that also represents the Sports Betting Alliance. Nationally, DraftKings and FanDuel have combined with Fanatics and bet365 to pour more than $70 million into the super PAC Win for America, which is targeting state legislative races in multiple states this cycle.
What It Signals for New York Gambling Policy
The scale of gambling-industry lobbying and campaign spending underscores how much is riding on decisions still pending in Albany, from the state’s long-delayed downstate casino licensing process to any future debate over additional mobile betting operators or tax rate changes. With operators and casino interests investing heavily in both lobbyists and allied political groups, the industry is positioning itself to have a loud voice in whatever comes next.
The ethics commission began publishing preliminary lobbying data every two months in 2025 specifically to increase transparency around this kind of spending, and full lobbying records remain searchable through the Open NY portal. For bettors, the story is less about any single bill and more about the sheer size of the operators’ war chest — a reminder of how much financial muscle sportsbooks like DraftKings and FanDuel are willing to put behind protecting their footholds in one of the country’s largest betting markets.