Drake’s Stakes: The Canadian Rapper Who Wagered Over $1 Billion In 2 Months
Since the release of his first album, ‘Thank Me Later’ in 2010, Canadian rapper Drake has become a household name.
However, the “6 God”, as he is known, has been making waves in the online gambling industry since becoming an official ambassador for the online cryptocurrency casino, Stake.com (see our full Stake review here).
Here at Casino.org, we wanted to get a full picture of Drake’s extraordinary gambling habits so we’ve analyzed his biggest sports and casino wagers in the past year.
We compared the total amount risked against the potential payout and calculated his most successful wins (as well as his most devastating losses).
A Brief History Of His Biggest Bets
- Total Wins: CA$106.3 million ($79.1 million)
- Total Losses: CA$46.1 million ($34.2 million)
From January 2022 to January 2024, our research discovered 24 notable wins and 21 notable losses.
This includes wagers on American leagues like the NFL and NBA and on international sports like the UFC and Formula 1.
It also includes his wagers on Stake.com, where it’s clear he has a penchant for roulette.
Some of his biggest successes occurred during live-streamed events as part of his partnership with Stake.
In fact, a single spin on a live roulette table saw him win over $17 million in May 2022.
The same month, he lost over $660,000 on Formula 1 and UFC bets.
Excluding an eight-figure casino failure (when he lost just under $25 million with French Montana), all of Drake’s biggest losses since January 2022 have been from his various sports wagers.
Despite his failures, the Toronto native totaled over $79.1 million in wins since joining Stake.com.
Take away the $34.2 million in losses, and Drake’s bets have seen him earn more than $44.9 million in profit.
In this blog, we take a more detailed look at Drake’s biggest wagers on Stake.
Drake On Stake
Drake joined the crypto casino under the username “DeepPockets6” in December 2021.
In just two months, he wagered cryptocurrency worth over $1 billion on various sports and casino bets.
The Toronto talent has never been shy about posting his gambling activity. In February 2022, he shared a snap of himself playing live high-stakes roulette while courtside at a Toronto Raptors game.
Since Drake’s first foray into the crypto betting world, Stake has been tagged or had its logo appear in almost all of the rapper’s gambling-related posts.
Unsurprisingly, the logo featured in his post about the Raptors, for whom the rapper has been a global ambassador since 2013.
While many fans expressed concern over Drake’s newfound gambling habits, other eagle-eyed viewers claimed it was simply product placement.
The last time we looked into Drake’s excessive gambling habits, rumors had begun to spread that a potential Drake-Stake partnership was brewing. Less than two weeks later, Drake announced his affiliation with the crypto casino in March 2022.
The announcement, which Drake deemed “inevitable”, was posted to his Instagram (@champagnepapi) on March 2.
The rapper wrote in the caption that part of this partnership would be a live-streamed event where he could dish out prizes and share the love “with my people”.
Drake’s Sport Stakes And The Drake Curse
Any bettor who keeps up with high-profile sports wagers will be well aware of the ‘Drake Curse’.
Far from the fabled King Midas, conspiracists believe that everything Drake touches turns to loss.
From Anthony Joshua to Serena Williams, any athlete endorsed or wagered on by Drake seems to suffer a shocking defeat.
The ‘Drake Curse’ is such legendary sporting folklore that analysts have crunched the numbers to see if it’s true (the myth was debunked with only 31% of associated players losing their matches, but who’s to get in the way of a good story?).
Since joining Stake, Drake has upped the ante and added jet fuel to the fire.
Whether it’s due to a passion for the sport or because Stake is the official partner in Asia and Latin America, Drake has funneled millions of dollars into wagering on the UFC.
Unfortunately, passion alone doesn’t win bets.
In March 2022, the Canadian star missed a $1.03 million payout after betting $275,000 that Jorge Masvidal would defeat Colby Covington.
The rapper lost another $1 million payout in May of the same year when he wagered $427,000 on Justin Gaethje to beat Charles Oliveira.
Things took a turn for the better on July 1, and it seemed the curse was momentarily lifted.
After a successful $136,000 wager on fellow Stake ambassador Israel Adesanya, Drake pocketed $897,000.
Just 10 days later, the “Hotline Bling” artist won a massive $3.7 million payout from a $2.2 million stake on Liverpudlian UFC duo Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann.
Drake bought them both a Rolex watch as a token of his gratitude.
However, his luck ended abruptly in August, and he lost two consecutive bets totaling $430,00 on UFC fighters Kamaru Usman and Jose Aldo.
Not put off by his UFC losses, Drake placed another bet on Israel Adesanya on November 12.
Hoping to cash in once again on the Stake ambassador, Drake wagered $2 million that he would beat opponent Alex Pereira in the UFC 281 title fight on November 12.
What could’ve been a $2.9 million payout resulted in a $2 million loss.
They say the third time’s the charm, and Drake clearly hoped it would ring true when he bet once again on Adesanya in September 2023.
He wagered – and subsequently lost – $500,000 when Adesanya was defeated by Sean Strickland in UFC 293.
He then swiftly switched sides to support Strickland in his fight against Dricus Du Plessis in UFC 297.
Even though the fight was on home soil, the Toronto native lost an eye-watering $700,000.
Switching from athletes to YouTubers, Drake stacked up several bets both for and against the controversial Paul brothers, Logan and Jake.
One stepped up to the mark, while the other floundered – though neither was a winning outcome for Drake. He lost $400,000 when Logan lost to Tommy Fury in February 2023 and a further $250,000 when Jake beat former UFC Title Challenger Nate Diaz in August 2023.
Logan Paul even went so far as to blame the ‘Drake Curse’ for his loss, while victors like Dricus Du Plessis thanked the rapper for cursing his opponents and securing them the W.
Drake Tries His Hand At Soccer
It seems his unlucky streak doesn’t end with UFC bets.
On October 16, the rapper wagered over $600,000 that both Arsenal and Barcelona would be victorious in their respective matches.
While Arsenal came through on their side of the deal, Barcelona lost 3-1 to rival team Real Madrid.
To rub salt in the wound, Barcelona’s kit featured the OVO owl logo.
The sponsorship came courtesy of Spotify, who partnered with the team to celebrate Drake becoming the first artist with 50 billion Spotify streams.
Unsurprisingly, this was used as further evidence that the ‘Drake Curse’ is alive and well.
Better Luck With The NFL
While Drake may have tallied more losses than wins from his UFC bets, the “6 God” has had a better run when wagering on the NFL.
In February 2022, he took home $537,850 by betting on the Rams to win and on Odell Beckham Jr. to score an anytime touchdown.
Though he lost $393,000 on a separate ODJ prop bet, he recovered $235,000 in April by betting on his Californian namesake Drake London to be the 1st drafted Wide Receiver.
Fast forward to the 2022 season, and Drake’s NFL bets are well underway.
Despite losing $208,000 on the Miami Dolphins on September 29, the rapper’s good fortunes continue.
In November, the rapper cashed out a whopping $2 million on a $287,000 bet.
The three-leg parlay predicted that the Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, and Kansas City Chiefs would be victorious in their Week 4 matchups.
Continuing to ride the lucky streak into 2023, Drake’s $1.1 million wager on the Chiefs to beat the Bengals in the AFC proved more than profitable with a $2 million payout.
Having established himself as one of the Super Bowl’s most anticipated bettors, Drizzy dropped just shy of $1 million ($965,000, to be exact) on various Super Bowl LVII bets. The biggest of these was a single $700,000 wager on the Chiefs to win the trophy.
The Kansas City Chiefs – apparently Drake’s good lucky charm – didn’t disappoint, and he bagged another $2 million payout.
Continuing His Lucky Streak With The NBA
Similarly, Drake’s basketball, baseball, and hockey wagers have proven highly successful.
Shortly before his bet on London in April 2022, Drake’s NBA bets on the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks saw him taking home a combined total of $729,440.
The same month, he bet on the Toronto Blue Jays to beat the Boston Red Sox and pocketed a respectable $115,240.
The lucky streak continued on May 16 when he cashed in a Game 7 parlay on the Dallas Mavericks, the Calgary Flames and the New York Rangers.
From a $309,000 stake with 8.64 total odds, Drake won an impressive $2,361,000.
This huge payout couldn’t have come at a better time, as he lost $235,000 only six days later by betting on Formula 1 racer Charles Leclerc to win the Spain Grand Prix.
That said, his basketball bets hit a bump in April 2023 when he lost a combined total of $400,000 on three NCAA parlays (including an all-Florida Final Four).
His bad luck didn’t last long, and he secured a $1 million payout when the Denver Nuggets beat Miami Heat in June 2023.
He also cashed out $850,000 from a $250,000 bet that Heat would win no more than one game.
Fast forward to January 2024, and basketball is still his number one earner. Drake started the year with a bang when he wagered $60,349 on the Indiana Pacers to beat Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA.
In comparison to some of his other wagers, the $223,292 payout is pretty average. However, it set him in good stead for the year ahead.
Clearly, the odds tip more in Drake’s favor when he bets on star-spangled soil.
In June 2022, Drake’s former NHL favorites let him down after he wagered $225,292 on a Rangers victory.
However, a swift change in tactics, a jump to the Colorado Avalanches and a $228,270 profit covered the losses of the day before.
Fortunately for the OVO entrepreneur, his decision to stick with the Golden State Warriors proved successful. Two strategic wagers on the Warriors resulted in a $1 million combined payout from the $225,292 and $111,620 stakes.
Congrats, You Won! But We’re Keeping The Cash
An unexpected trend that occurred from December 2022 to December 2023, was that the team or person the “6 God” wagered on would win, but he’d still lose the bet.
For example, his million-dollar wager on Argentina to win the 2022 World Cup was technically correct. However, he predicted they’d win after 90 minutes of play, and not through penalties as was the outcome. Therefore, his bet was void and his e-wallet a million dollars lighter.
The same happened twice during the 2023 NCAA. He lost $250,000 despite the Huskies beating the Aztecs as predicted. Drake wagered that they’d win by a margin of 6-10 points, and they ended up 17 points above.
April 2023 wasn’t all doom and gloom, though, because he won $230,000 from a $100,000 wager on the Huskies winning by at least 11 points.
Now, we’ve already demonstrated just how bad Drake’s UFC betting history is. But in 2023, he got so close to breaking his unlucky streak.
Putting his faith once again in Logan Paul, Drake bet he would knock out MMA fighter Dillon Danis when they went head-to-head in September 2023.
Paul defied the odds and took home the trophy, but if he’d won by a knockout rather than a technicality, Drake would’ve taken home $1.4 million from his $850,000 stake.
And it seems the rapper doesn’t learn from mistakes. Just one month later, he lost $250,000 when he made the same bet on Leon Edwards to beat Colby Covington at UFC 296. Edwards was victorious, but no knockout = no cashout.
Drake’s Casino Stakes
Six-figure spins
Stake is a site that values its casino just as much as its sportsbook, and Drake is the same.
Alongside placing six- and seven-figure sports wagers, the rapper is renowned for splashing big bucks on red and black.
A week before he announced his partnership with Stake, Drake was pictured wagering over $100,000 on a single spin at an ARIA Casino high-stakes roulette table.
Since joining Stake, Drake has wagered, lost, and won some astronomical casino bets.
Rather than spinning the reels of the latest slots or beating the dealer to 21, the Toronto rapper focuses his time (and enormous bankroll) on roulette.
After all, in 2020, he dropped $620,000 on a Jacob & Co watch with a functioning roulette wheel inside.
Drake kicked off 2022 in style with a $354,000 roulette payout, taking home $215,000 on top of his original stake.
He shared a video of the win on his Instagram story with the caption, “I’m a savant… nothing sweeter than a repeater.”
Later that year, the “6 God” scored over $12 million on another roulette spin – this time while wearing a retro Arsenal shirt (an attempt to disprove the ‘Drake Curse’ theory, perhaps…?).
In 2023, his public casino wagers slowed down. However, this may soon change.
In November 2023, Drake shared a reel on his Instagram that highlighted his past wins. The caption read, “Been a long time without a big win…but I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again @Stake”.
Does this mean Drizzy will soon be reclaiming his title as Stake Casino’ biggest bettor?
Drake Vs Stake
Drake has hosted a number of live streamed events as part of his partnership with the crypto casino.
Dubbed “Drake Vs Stake”, these events give Stake players from around the world exclusive access to Drake’s own live roulette gameplay.
Alongside scoring himself some significant wins, the rapper hands out Bitcoin packages worth between $20,000 and $75,000 to players throughout the stream.
There have been at least five “Drake Vs Stake” events so far, with around $1 million worth of crypto awarded each time.
Contrary to his ‘cursed’ athletic associates, Drake frequently scores huge casino wins when betting with a partner.
Whether he’s wagering live with other streamers on Twitch or playing alongside his celebrity rapper pals, the Canadian gambling mogul has multiple million-dollar wins under his belt.
Celebrity guests often join Drake during his “Drake Vs Stake” events. The first live-streamed Twitch event, which took place on May 26 2022, saw Drake surrounded by an entourage while he wagered $500,000 per spin on a live roulette table.
Moments before his guest and fellow rapper Lil Baby entered the room, Drake won a mammoth $17.9 million on his lucky number, black 11.
On July 11 the same year, French Montana joined Drake for the second instalment of “Drake Vs Stake”. The rapper scored two more eight-figure wins, which amounted to an incredible $24.9 million.
Throughout the stream, Drake dished out another $1 million worth of Bitcoin between the 100,000 Stake members following the event.
While the winnings of his two streamed casino events amount to more than all of his successful sports wagers combined, it seems he hasn’t yet perfected the art of knowing when to cash out.
Despite starting with $8.5 million and reaching almost $27.2 million at one point, he ended the second event with less than $2,000 in his account.
His most recent “Drake VS Stake” events have been co-hosted by popular streamer Rothstein. The duo first livestreamed together in October 2022 from an arcade in Canada, where they gave out prizes worth $20,000 and video called the lucky winners.
This gambling session resulted in some major wins, including a $12.2 million and a $6.6 million payout on the roulette wheel.
Straying from his favorite tabletop game, Drake managed to score a $1 million win on the Hacksaw Gaming slot Dork Unit.
The pair hosted three further “Drake Vs Stake” events throughout 2023, including a slots-focused special where the pair won $678,600 on another Hacksaw Gaming slot, Wanted Dead or a Wild.
All but one of the “Drake Vs Stake” 2023 events were streamed from the freshly launched streaming website Kick.com. This move is unsurprising for two reasons.
The first is that Stake needed somewhere new to host its events, since Twitch banned all gambling livestreams held at casinos without a US license.
Secondly, the upstart is owned by none other than the co-founders of Stake.com, Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani.
Are Drake’s Stakes Legit?
Before Drake officially announced his partnership with Stake, people were questioning whether or not the multi-platinum-award winner was being paid to promote the site.
After Drake confirmed the partnership, the focus shifted towards a different line of questioning.
Many bettors now believe that the money Drake gambles on the site is in fact deposited by Stake itself.
Some claim he can make such high-risk bets because he is not risking his own money.
Whether or not this is true is yet to be discovered; however, with a net worth of a quarter of a billion, it’s not unreasonable to think he has the bankroll to fund such outrageous betting habits.
Stake Beyond Drake
Alongside associations with Drake and the UFC, Stake has global partnerships that are helping launch the crypto casino into the mainstream.
Stake took its first foray into the UK market in 2022. Besides opening a dedicated site for UK bettors under a new handle, Stake is the official front-of-shirt sponsor for both Everton and Watford FC.
It also signed former Manchester City striker Sergio Agüero as a brand ambassador in February 2022 and became the shirt sleeve sponsor for Peterborough’s Emirates FA Cup 5th Round match in the same month.
In September, Stake.com landed a sponsorship deal with the European Cricket Championship. The crypto site became the principal partner for the 2022 Championships in Spain.
Further abroad, Stake launched a separate venture – Stake News – in August 2022, subsequently becoming India’s primary sponsor of Mumbai City FC.
Less than a week later, Stake became the principal sponsor of a second Indian Super League team, Hyderabad FC.
In Japan, Stake signed a deal with Volleyball World to become the official sponsor of the International Volleyball Federation’s men’s league in Osaka, Japan.
2023 brought a whole host of new partnerships, including the Alfa Romeo F1 team, Everton Football Club, and the International Tennis Federation’s Davis Cup & Billie Jean King Cup.
New ambassadors for 2023 include soccer player Gabriel ‘Gabigol’ Barbosa, and mixed martial artists Alexandre Pantoja, Gilbert ‘Durinho’ Burns and Jailton ‘Malhadinho’ Almeida.
The crypto casino kicked off 2024 with its biggest partnership the date: its own Formula One team. Its 2023 partner Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake has rebranded to become, simply, Stake F1 Team.
Alongside this announcement, Stake is now the exclusive partner for both the 2024 and 2025 F1 seasons. It is also the principal new sponsor of Esporte Clube Juventude.
Lead image: Geo News
