Gambling is legal in Ohio. People have the right to spend their money how they choose. We are not here to argue otherwise.
But when a Boston-based sports betting company starts spending millions to handpick Republican candidates in Ohio statehouse races, that is a different conversation. Frankly, it doesn't feel right, no matter the party.
The Money Trail
A DraftKings-linked super PAC called the American Conservative Fund poured more than $170,000 into the Delaware County Senate District 19 Republican primary, backing Ryan Rivers against state Rep. Beth Lear. Rivers' campaign booked more than $104,000 in ads to Lear's $12,000. That feels less like a primary and more like an outright acquisition.
The same super PAC spent $190,000 against state Rep. Gary Click, one of the loudest voices in the Statehouse pushing to restrict sports betting. The money leads directly back to DK Crown Holdings, DraftKings’ parent company, which put more than $1 million in Ohio legislative races alone.
$26 Billion Reasons
According to state Rep. Riordan McClain, R-Upper Sandusky, Ohioans have bet $26 billion since sports betting launched in January 2023. McClain is sponsoring legislation that would ban phone betting, cap wagers, muzzle sportsbook advertising, and block credit card gambling. In March 2026 alone, Ohio sportsbooks pocketed $88.14 million, up 32.6% from a year earlier, according to the Ohio Casino Control Commission.
That's the kind of money worth protecting. And apparently, worth spending on elections.
The Human Cost
The Center for Addiction Science, Policy, and Research reports that gambling companies pulled $888 million more out of Ohio bettors than they paid back in 2025 alone. Of that, $533 million left the state entirely. Meanwhile, problem gambling surged sevenfold between 2012 and 2022, before mobile betting even launched, according to the Problem Gambling Network of Ohio.
Approximately 255,000 adult Ohioans, roughly the population of Toledo, already had a problem. Nobody has counted what happened after the app launched.
Not Your Grandfather’s Bet
There was a time when gambling in Ohio meant circling a date on the calendar. The Little Brown Jug at the Delaware County Fair was an event — something you planned for, drove to, and stood in the sun for. Betting was something that happened once a year, in a place, with other people. It was not in your pocket. It was not available at midnight. It was not designed by an algorithm.
Today, you press a button while slumped on your couch, and the money is gone before the commercial break ends.
Meet the Customer
The typical sports bettor is between 21 and 34 years old, male, and earns between $25,000 and $75,000 a year. He is not wealthy. He is a young man with a phone, and like most social media platforms, sports betting is designed to keep him engaged, betting and losing just enough to stay in the game.
That's where the $888 million comes from. That's whose money is flowing into Ohio's statehouse races.
Their Money, Their Candidate
This is not an indictment of DraftKings - they are free to operate anyway they want. It is a mirror. The question worth asking is not whether gambling is legal. It is whether a company that profits from the financial struggles of young Ohioans should be in the business of choosing who represents them.
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