The rapper Drake is not backward in coming forward when it comes to placing big money bets.
His followers on social media are treated to regular updates on his betting activities, with wagers placed with Stake.com, the brand for whom he’s an ambassador, and shared on Instagram.
It would be fair to describe his gambling as something of a loss leader; to the point that there’s even a ‘Drake curse’ – named after his propensity for backing outcomes which then spectacularly fail with remarkable regularity.
But all of his past endeavours fade into insignificance compared to his latest update: Drake has lost $8.2 million (£6 million) in the last 30 days alone – while staking a staggering $124 million (£91 million) in total.
Cursed to Fail
If you thought you’d had a bad week, spare a thought for the Canadian.
Sharing a screenshot of his Stake account profit and loss, Drake confirmed that he had lost an eye-watering £4.3 million in the past week.
And overnight, things got even worse for the 38-year-old, who had wagered a combined £600,000 on Oklahoma City Thunder to beat the Indiana Pacers in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, as well as the Thunder to win by a margin of 6-10 points.
The Pacers won 108-91.
Prior to another run-out for the Drake Curse, the rapper shared his losses with his Instagram followers, writing:
“Gotta share the other side of gambling. Losses are so fried right now… I hope I can post a big one for you soon.”
Of course, it’s worth asking is everything as it seems? It was reported back in 2023 that Drake had signed an endorsement deal with Stake worth $100 million (£74 million), so is he simply betting with the house’s money?
Few bookmakers would lay bets the size of those Drake has placed, so perhaps there’s some smoke and mirrors going on here. But, even so, the Canadian’s ability to stop winning runs for previously unstoppable teams must be commended…
The Drake Curse Lives On
Another post on Drake’s Instagram shows him asking ChatGPT to help him predict the results of upcoming sports events – the sort of tactic that punters should avoid at all costs, given that an AI bot cannot understand the nuances and peculiarities of sports betting.
But it just goes to show that the 38-year-old really has little idea about the events he’s betting again – which is again a complete no-no for anyone having a flutter.
It’s thought that the Drake curse began back in 2019, when he posed for photographs with footballers from three different clubs – Roma, PSG and Manchester City, with the latter’s Sergio Aguero missing a penalty in a Champions League quarter final just days after meeting the rapper. All three sides lost after being snapped with Drake.
Some of Drake’s heftiest losses have come in boxing, such as when he backed 58-year-old Mike Tyson to win his first fight in two decades against influencer Jake Paul. Having wagered £280,000 on Iron Mike to prevail, the rapper watched on as Paul won a haplessly one-sided contest on points.
He had previously shelled £393,000 on Tyson Fury to defeat Oleksandr Usyk in their undisputed heavyweight rematch. Usyk won via a split points decision.
Never one to miss out on jumping aboard a hype train, Drake opted to back MMA star Francis Ngannou in a boxing bout against former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in 2024.
AJ dropped the man from the Cameroon in the first round of their contest, before going on to easily wrap up victory with a KO finish in the second – an outcome that cost Drake a cool £440,000.
There has been a handful of occasions in which the rapper, real name Aubrey Graham, has wagered $1 million (£740,000) on an eventuality… and, with comforting consistency, gone on to lose.
One such incident came in May when he backed the Toronto Maple Leafs to beat the Florida Panthers in the NHL. Florida won 6-1… leading Drake to blame Justin Bieber for the seven-figure loss.
And then there was the time that Drake backed Argentina to defeat France in the final of World Cup 2022. Lionel Messi and co did prevail, but only after extra time and penalties – Drake had taken them to win in the 90-minute market.
There have been successes too, such as when he backed the Kansas City Chiefs to win the Super Bowl in 2023 – that banked him more than $1 million in prize money.
But the wins are far outweighed by the losses… how much of his estimated net worth of $250 million is he losing on a monthly basis?