Sports Betting Industry Pours $10 Million Into Georgia’s 2026 Election as Legalization Push Continues
DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics, and Bet365 have assembled a $10 million super PAC operation in Georgia, making the sports betting industry one of the biggest outside spenders in the state's 2026 legislative elections.
The sports betting industry has emerged as one of the top independent spending forces in Georgia’s 2026 election cycle, channeling more than $10 million through a super PAC network into state legislative races on both sides of the aisle. The spending follows the collapse of House Resolution 450 earlier this year, a bill that would have put a sports betting referendum before voters, which failed badly in the Georgia House after opponents raised concerns about gambling, revenue allocation, and regulatory design.
The campaign is being coordinated through Win for America, a super PAC funded by DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics, and Bet365. Win for America has routed its funds through two subsidiary vehicles: American Conservative Fund Action Georgia, which has spent more than $7.8 million backing Republican candidates and incumbents, and American Future, a Democratic-aligned group that has spent more than $2.2 million on Democratic legislative races. Because the spending is independent under Citizens United, candidates cannot solicit, coordinate with, or direct the money.
Who Is Receiving the Money
The Republican-aligned arm has backed more than two dozen GOP incumbents and candidates, including Senate Majority Leader Jason Anavitarte, House Speaker Jon Burns, and House Appropriations Chair Matt Hatchett. The Democratic arm has supported incumbents including state Reps. Dar’shun Kendrick, Esther Panitch, and Mary Frances Williams, along with several candidates in open-seat primaries. The breadth of the effort reflects the industry’s strategy of targeting lawmakers who have voted for, or may support, a future sports betting referendum rather than any single party.
Several recipients say they were surprised by the support. Panitch, a Democrat who voted in favor of the sports betting referendum bill, noted that the outside group could just as easily have spent against her. At least one anti-gambling Democrat, Rep. Bentley Hudgins, received backing despite long-standing opposition to legalizing sports betting. The industry is spending across ideological lines to maximize its footprint in the legislature when the issue returns next session.
What It Means for Sports Betting in Georgia
Georgia remains one of a small number of large states where sports betting is not yet legal. The state has been wrestling with the issue for eight years, but the 2026 House vote marked the first time the chamber formally took up a sports betting referendum bill, and its lopsided defeat left the industry recalibrating its approach. Readers following Georgia sports betting developments have been tracking one of the more closely watched outstanding markets in the country.
The $10.3 million spent in Georgia is part of a broader $41 million Win for America has deployed across state legislative races nationally in the 2026 cycle. New filings indicate the group’s affiliated arms are also targeting Texas, another major holdout state. The strategy is consistent with how the industry approached Missouri and North Carolina legalization in prior cycles, using outside spending to reshape the legislative composition before the formal vote rather than lobbying after the fact.
Legalization advocates note that Georgia would represent a major market for operators given its population and the presence of professional franchises in Atlanta. In the current regulatory environment, Georgia residents who want to bet on sports are doing so through offshore platforms or crossing into neighboring states, which already operate legal online sportsbooks. Whether the 2027 legislative session produces a different outcome will depend substantially on the composition of the chamber after November’s elections.