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You don’t have to be an Ultimate Fighting Championship fan to have heard of Conor McGregor.
The outspoken Irishman hit the headlines for his behaviour outside the octagon as much as his performances inside it. He has even gone on to star in Hollywood movies in real acting roles.
One thing he is not particularly well known for though, is his gambling.
Yet McGregor has placed some absolutely mammoth sports bets, especially in 2024 at the end of his fighting career.
There is some debate over how many of these bets were legitimately made with his own money. This is because he signed a promotional agreement with a crypto casino and sportsbook called Duelbits, with whom he also made many of the bets. Some say he was given bonus money by the company to make these bets, but the exact details of the deal are not public knowledge. The betslips exist though, so the bets were made.
The former UFC world champion was still on their roster when he made these bets. Some were calling for action because since 2022, UFC rules do not allow fighters to place bets, but McGregor had been inactive since July 2021 and it wasn’t clear if he would fight again. Either way, he wasn’t penalised for making the bets.
Many of his biggest bets were on UFC fights, but he also placed smaller wagers (still hundreds of thousands) on football and tennis. Despite some big losses leading to claims he was gambling irresponsibly, McGregor laid out his winnings vs his losses and explained he was only gambling with money he had won.