Editor
A super political action committee (PAC) funded by the parent company of DraftKings has spent more than $1 million on advertising to support more than a dozen Ohio Republican legislative candidates ahead of the May 5 primary.
The America Conservative Fund received the money through another PAC, Win For America, from DK Crown Holdings. This entity serves as the parent company of the gambling operator.
The ads, interestingly, don’t mention Ohio gambling. Instead, they focus on regular issues such as promises to lower taxes and defend gun rights.
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DraftKings Protecting Its Turf
This clearly relates to a recent bill introduced by House Republicans that would outright ban online sports betting, a little more than three years after the market launch. They also want to ban prop bets and parlays, which sportsbooks rely on as some of their most lucrative products in terms of margin.
Gov. Mike DeWine previously called for a total ban on prop bets after reports revealed that two Cleveland Guardians pitchers allegedly manipulated their pitches in MLB games so bettors could profit.
With Republicans holding a supermajority in the House and a governor who has stated that signing Ohio’s sports betting bill was his biggest mistake in office, the industry is now fighting to hold its ground.
The super PAC’s spending choices make the strategy clear. The group directed about $190,000 toward challenging Rep. Gary Click, who remains one of the most vocal critics of sports betting in the legislature and continues to lead the push to ban prop bets. Click was among the four Republicans seeking to put shackles on the industry. His main opponent is Eric Watson.
The PAC also directed over $313,000 toward Rep. Jim Hoops for his Ohio Senate District 1 primary and about $225,000 toward former Sen. Frank Hoagland in his House District 96 race.
The PAC has also supported Rep. Brian Stewart, who chairs the powerful House Finance Committee and has vowed to block or resist any attempts to ban prop betting in the state.
The iGaming Picture in Ohio
While DraftKings may frame its contributions as a defensive move, the company clearly sees its real upside in expanding into online casinos in Ohio. Lawmakers in both chambers filed bills last year to allow the state’s four commercial casinos and seven racinos to launch iGaming.
However, those efforts didn’t progress, largely because Gov. DeWine pledged that he would not sign any further gambling expansion into law. DeWine’s term will end soon, and he can’t run for re-election. Voters will likely replace him with Republican Vivek Ramaswamy or Democrat Amy Acton, neither of whom has a record of opposing gaming expansions.
The prospect of Ohio legalizing a market that already generates billions of dollars annually in states like New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan continues to attract attention.
Reaching that point will prove difficult, as the House in particular shows little appetite for online casinos while pushing bans on prop bets and parlays. DraftKings is using the May primaries to build the same political foundation that any future iGaming push would require.
Ohio Spending Notable in Light of Recent Federal Lobbying by DK
After several years of focusing on state-level lobbying, both DraftKings and FanDuel increased their federal lobbying spend in 2025. FanDuel allocated about $1.1 million to federal lobbying last year, roughly seven times its 2024 budget, while DraftKings doubled its own spending to around $900,000.
One key driver behind this shift involves potential tax provisions in the Republican budget reconciliation package, the “Big Beautiful Bill,” which would change how gambling losses are treated for income tax purposes.
The proposal reduces the deduction of gross losses from 100% to 90%, which has raised concerns among gamblers. For online operators, this could result in customers facing unexpected tax bills on money they didn’t actually win.
Another factor driving increased spending in Washington is the growing popularity of prediction markets. Regulators classify these products as financial instruments rather than gambling products, meaning any winnings qualify as capital gains instead of gambling income and can be fully offset against other capital losses.
For DraftKings in Ohio, the immediate goal is to maintain a workable sports betting environment. However, the company’s willingness to spend seven figures on state legislative primaries shows that it is thinking well beyond the next legislative session.
Ohio represents a large market with an established gaming infrastructure and an incoming governor who won’t carry the same reservations as the current administration. That combination positions the Buckeye State as one of the more plausible iGaming opportunities in the near term in the U.S., so early investment could pay off.
