From a Biologist to a Lyft Driver: Meet the Individual Prop 27 Donors

Private sports betting companies aren’t the only ones funding the Prop 27 campaign in California as the Nov. 8 election nears.

According to the California Secretary of State’s database, the campaign behind the CA online sports betting ballot initiative has received $6,096.48 from individual donors. A total of 13 contributions added up to $2,500. Then, an undisclosed number of unitemized contributions (below $100) totaled $3,596.48.

The largest donation from an individual, $1,000, came on Aug. 4. There were two $250 donations and 10 $100 donations.

Individual donors had the option of listing their profession and employer. Below is a breakdown:

Donation DateContributionEmployerJob Title
July 8, 2022$100Not EmployedNot Employed
July 19, 2022$100Not EmployedNot Employed
July 23, 2022$100US ExpressTruck Driver
Aug. 3, 2022$100Not EmployedNot Employed
Aug. 9, 2022$100UC San DiegoDirector
Aug. 11, 2022$100Not EmployedNot Employed
Aug. 12, 2022$100Not EmployedNot Employed
Aug. 16, 2022$100Not EmployedNot Employed
Aug. 17, 2022$100Not EmployedNot Employed
Aug. 24, 2022$100LyftDriver
Aug. 12, 2022$250OffStage HoldingsCEO
Aug. 14, 2022$250Sol Ecology Inc.Biologist
Aug. 4, 2022$1,000Not EmployedNot Employed
Unitemized Contributions$3,596.48NANA
Total$6,096.48

So, add a biologist, truck driver, Lyft driver, and investment fund CEO to the list of Californians in support of Prop 27.

The $6,096.48 raised by individual donors accounts for 0.0036% of the total money spent on the Prop 27 campaign — north of $169.3 million. The vast majority of that was raised by seven US sportsbooks.

FanDuel has donated $35,009,850. DraftKings has donated $34,336,084.64. BetMGM, PENN Gaming, and Fanatics have each contributed $25 million. And Bally Bet and WynnBET have each spent $12.5 million.

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No Donations Since September

The sportsbooks haven’t spent any money on Prop 27 since Sept. 1. That signals what both DraftKings CEO Jason Robins and FanDuel CEO Amy Howe said last week at G2E in Las Vegas: That they doubt Prop 26 or Prop 27 will pass in the November election, and they’re turning their focus to the 2024 ballot.

Now, is there zero chance California sports betting gets legalized next month? No.

A recent poll from SurveyUSA had 43% of likely California voter respondents say they supported Prop 26 and 37% say they supported Prop 27. However, that was the first poll that showed any real hope of victory for either ballot measure.

Another poll, conducted by UC Berkeley (and with a considerably larger sample size) in September, had 31% of respondents say they favored Prop 26 and just 27% say they favored Prop 27.

Most sports betting industry experts expect both Prop 26 and Prop 27 to fail in this election.

About the Author

Matthew Bain

Matthew Bain started as News Editor and Content Manager at California Casinos in 2022. Before that, he spent six years as a sports reporter and then deputy sports editor for the Des Moines Register, during which time he won nine statewide journalism awards, including the Genevieve Mauck Stoufer Outstanding Young Iowa Journalists Award. As deputy sports editor, Matthew oversaw the Register's recruiting coverage while also innovating the outlet's high school sports coverage. Matthew graduated from San Diego State and grew up in California, but he's somehow a Boston Celtics fan. Long story.