The Alabama gamble doesn't pay off for sports betting sites
Harwell was given a significant financial edge in the race against Glover. This was in part due to funds coming from the SV&B Political Action Committee. This PAC receives funding from the SBA. The SBA counts five of the major U.S. online sportsbooks as members. This group includes BetMGM, Bet365, DraftKings, Fanatics, and FanDuel. The PAC was responsible for contributing at least $70,000 of Harwell’s funding.
"There's a PAC out of Montgomery that's being fed by the sports betting group,"
Glover told Alabama Online. He's got $70,000 from that PAC.
"A PAC would be where you have an entity that gives money to a candidate, and you have other entities, maybe businesses or special interest groups that feed money into that PAC."
That money helped Harwell gain an advantage in election contributions of $264,000 to $70,000 over Glover during the race.
However, it was a gamble that didn't pay off. Glover received 7,187 votes, or 54.6% of all ballots cast. Only 45.4 of voters (5,987 votes)
cast their ballots
for Harwell.
Glover had held this Senate seat for 12 years before making an unsuccessful run at Alabama Lieutenant Governor. Since there is no Democratic candidate in the district, Glover will win the fall election by acclamation.
Harwell denies that sports betting sites held any influence over him
Despite getting such a mass of money from the SBA, Harwell made the claim that he had never even been in contact with representatives of the SBA or any of its sportsbook members.
"Those PACs are supporting me because of my message," Harwell said. "And my message is I want the best for my district."
Glover, naturally, wasn't buying that claim.
"These folks that are presenting the money to candidates, they do not do this unless they have the assurance that they will vote a certain way," Glover said.
Glover also insisted that another PAC, the American Conservative Fund, was being backed by DraftKings. That PAC was running attack ads and distributing mailers during the campaign that were anti-Glover.
Harwell was up front in how he thinks legalized gambling should operate when the day comes that it is legalized in Alabama.
"I think the lottery, sports betting, and [casino] games are completely three different things that should be separate, should be addressed separately," Harwell said.
Sports betting sites were heavily vested in the Alabama primary races
The Harwell vs Glover battle wasn't the only Alabama election race that saw a candidate drawing major backing from dark money linked to sports betting sites. Overall, the SV&B PAC invested a total of $9.3 million in Alabama Republican primary races.
Attempts to pass a bill to legalize sports betting in Alabama failed in both 2024 and 2025.
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