Gambling Giants Get Early Wins in Alabama Primaries

Big players in sports betting, DraftKings and FanDuel, are establishing a presence in Alabama, after a flurry of campaign spending helped pro-gambling candidates do well in the state’s Republican primary elections.

$9M Betting Push Helps Pro-Gambling Candidates Surge

The biggest outside spender in the races was a political action committee, American Conservative Fund,  backed by the leading betting platforms that spent more than $9 million on key races. Early counts suggest that a strong majority of the candidates endorsed by the group won or held comfortable leads as ballots were counted, as reported by Bloomberg. 

The result is viewed as a plus for the gambling industry, which has been chasing state legislatures around the country. With federal regulation efforts mostly stalled, companies are looking to local elections to help establish policy from the bottom up. 

Alabama presents a very attractive opportunity. Sports betting is currently illegal in the state, but legalization could bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue for operators, analysts believe. As more states open their doors to betting, the potential for market expansion is in the billions nationally. 

The primaries also showed the increasing financial muscle of corporate-backed political groups. Spending by issue-oriented groups has exploded compared to past election cycles, and this year it is largely dominated by money related to gambling. 

Critics Raise Alarm Over Hidden Gambling Funds in Elections

However, the flow of gambling money has been met with criticism and calls for scrutiny. A coalition of conservative groups has called on state officials to investigate campaign cash linked to gambling interests. Groups say voters should know who is paying for political messages and who is trying to influence the outcome of elections. 

In public statements, the groups said they were concerned that big money was flowing through complicated networks of political committees, possibly obscuring the original source of the funds. Such practices, they warned, could erode faith in the electoral system if left unchecked.

State officials have said they have received requests for investigation, but have not said whether any inquiries are being made. Adding to the uncertainty is the fact that some federal campaign finance rules are fuzzy when it comes to the involvement of federal political committees in state races, legal experts say. 

However, not all of the gambling advocates’ efforts were successful, despite the controversy. Money alone does not win elections, as evidenced by at least one high-profile race in which a candidate opposing gambling expansion defeated a well-heeled opponent. 

The legalization of gambling in Alabama is still up in the air. A similar proposal barely failed in the state senate two years ago, falling just short of passage. The question is likely to return to the legislative agenda in the near future as newly elected lawmakers might be more receptive to the idea.