The Come Up Show, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
On this site, and many others like it, betting guides talk about the importance of understanding the specifics of the bet you are making.
Drake should probably read one or two of our articles.
He bet a cool $1 million dollars (try saying that without doing the Dr Evil voice) on Argentina to win, and they did, so why did Drake lose?
You might have already guessed the answer, but even if you have, you’re perhaps not aware of the Drake curse.
He might be one of those wealthy privileged rappers, but he has lost many high profile bets. So if you get wind he has wagered on an outcome you were thinking of, you might want to think again!
Before we go any further, we’ve got a little Christmas cracker type game for you: this post is littered with Drake song references, see if you can spot them all – answers at the bottom (and you have already read past the first one).
Why Did Drake’s World Cup Bet Lose?
The devil is in the detail as they say, and this was certainly true in Drake’s case.
You see, he released an Instagram video talking about how he would bet on Argentina to win the final, and his friend would bet on France, to make the game extra interesting.
He later shared a screenshot of the bet, which he placed on the cryptocurrency site Stake, to prove the wager was real.
Argentina did indeed go on to win the World Cup, but Drake had bet on Argentina to win the game on the 1 X 2 market, and the rules on all gambling sites state that this market only applies to the first 90 minutes of play plus injury time.
Had Argentina held on to their 2-0 lead Drake would have walked away with a profit of $1.75 million, on top of his original stake, but this clearly wasn’t God’s plan, and Kylian Mbappe netted twice in 2 minutes to keep France in the game.
Incidentally, Mbappe also scored in extra time, making him only the second player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, after our very own Geoff Hurst.
Anyway, back to Drake.
Had he bet on Argentina to lift the trophy, rather than to win the game, he would have won his bet. That’s the difference between a bettor who knows the rules, and one who doesn’t.
Was he aware of this rule, or did he place the bet with no guidance? He’s an avid gambler by all accounts so perhaps, but then again, when you’re as rich as him you maybe don’t bother with the fine print, so it could have been an oversight.
Why is Drake Cursed When Gambling?
This is not his first failed rodeo. It’s not even his first failed high stakes bet this quarter.
Just a month ago, Drake lost even more when he bet $2 million on the UFC bout between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. He backed Adesanya, so obviously Pereira won.
He had also previously backed Anthony Joshua to beat Andy Ruiz in 2019, and despite Joshua being the favourite, he got pummelled by Ruiz, who was very much the underdog.
FC Barcelona lost to Real Madrid after not only being backed by Drake, but also wearing his OVO Sound brand logo on their kit as part of a sponsorship deal.
They weren’t all bets of over $1 million, but regardless, he’s certainly left a lot of money in the grave.
Drake’s impact on the result of sporting events is so well known, that when he announced he had placed the World Cup bet, one of his followers replied:
“Yoo Drake please cancel your bet… you are going to ruin a historical day for no reason…”
It’s not just bets though. The ‘Drake effect’ works in photographs too.
He has been snapped with Conor McGregor, Jadon Sancho, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sergio Aguerro and the Paris Saint-Germain team – all of whom went on to lose their next important match/fight.
Players at AS Roma were even banned from being photographed with him until the end of the 2019 season, such was his reputation for being bad luck!
He did manage to make a tiny amount of money on the Super Bowl earlier this year, but it wasn’t enough to shake his reputation, and this latest financial hammer blow won’t have done anything to help.
So be warned, check what Drake is doing before you make your bets, and if he has gone the same way as you don’t say you weren’t told of the consequences, or it might be a case of laugh now cry later.
Drake Song Quiz Answers
Here you go, how many did you get?
- Privileged Rappers – From the 2022 Album, Her Loss
- God’s Plan – From the 2018 Album, Scorpion
- No Guidance – From the 2019 Album, Indigo
- Money in the Grave – From the 2019 Album, The Best in the World Pack
- Laugh Now Cry Later – A 2020 Single
I’ll be honest, I had to look them up – I’m so old I couldn’t name a single song of his.
Merry Christmas!