The Drake Curse struck again last weekend, as the man who has become almost as famous for his gambling losses as he is for his music lost a huge bet on the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight.
Drake risked $355,000 betting on Tyson to win, sharing a screenshot of the Stake betting slip on Instagram. Had Tyson been triumphant, Drake would have taken a payout of more than $1 million. But of course, it wasn’t to be.
This is far from the first time that Drake has lost out on big bets. In fact, it has happened so many times now that fans have coined the term "The Drake Curse." But is there any truth behind the rumors that the hip-hop star's bets put a curse on some of the world’s best sports stars?
Drake + Stake
Drake announced a partnership with Stake.com, which operates almost exclusively in cryptocurrency, in 2022. Since then, most of Drake's public sports bets have been made on that platform and shared on his social media channels.
He's listed on the company's website as a long-time member of their community and a player "storming the high ranks" of their VIP program.
The bets behind 'The Drake Curse'
Drake’s recent bet on Tyson grabbed headlines, as did Jake Paul’s reaction to the news that Drake had bet against him. But losses like these have definitely overshadowed some of Drake’s more recent wins.
The day after his loss on the Tyson vs. Paul fight, the artist was triumphant with a $450,000 bet on Jon Jones to defend his UFC heavyweight crown against Stipe Miocic. That bet brought in $954,000 total, and returned Drake to his current “not cursed” status.
In June, Drake made $500,000 wagers on both the Dallas Mavericks at +175 and the Edmonton Oilers at +105 to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy and Stanley Cup, respectively.
The total winnings from Drake’s bets on the Mavericks and Oilers would have been $2.4 million: a $1.375 million payout on the Mavericks and a $1.025 million win on the Oilers. But, unfortunately for him, the curse struck once again.
Drake’s been far more successful in his predictions for some sports than others, though. Let’s take a closer look at how this alleged curse has played out across different sports.
| Date | Event | Bet | Win/Loss | Profit/Loss | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 16 | UFC 309 | Jon Jones to KO Stipe Miocic | Win | $504,000 | -121 |
| Nov. 15 | Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson | Mike Tyson to beat Jake Paul | Loss | -$355,000 | -185 |
| Aug. 17 | UFC 305 | Israel Adesanya to beat Dricus Du Plessis | Loss | -$450,000 | -111 |
| Sept. 8 | US Open men's final | Taylor Fritz to beat Jannik Sinner | Loss | -210,000 | +285 |
| July 8 | Copa America '24 semifinal | Canada to beat Argentina | Loss | -$300,000 | +860 |
| June 9 | T20 World Cup 2024 | India to beat Pakistan | Win | $260,000 | -250 |
| June 6 | NBA Playoffs '23/24 | Dallas Mavericks to win NBA Finals | Loss | -$500,000 | +175 |
| June 6 | NHL Playoffs '23/24 | Edmonton Oilers to win Stanley Cup | Loss | -$500,000 | +105 |
| May 26 | IPL Final 2024 | Kolkata Knight Riders to win Indian Premier League | Win | $175,000 | -143 |
| May 18 | Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk | Tyson Fury to beat Oleksandr Usyk | Loss | -$565,000 | -130 |
| Apr. 13 | UFC 300 | Alex Pereira to beat Jamahal Hill | Win | $519,750 | -130 |
| March 8 | Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou | Francis Ngannou to beat Anthony Joshua | Loss | -$615,000 | +210 |
| Feb. 11 | Super Bowl LVIII | Kansas City Chiefs to win Super Bowl | Win | $1.19 million | +104 |
| Jan. 20 | UFC 297 | Sean Strickland to beat Dricus Du Plessis | Loss | -$700,000 | -103 |
| Jan. 1 | NBA Regular Season '23/24 | Indiana Pacers to beat Milwaukee Bucks | Win | $162,943 | +270 |
UFC brings Drake’s biggest win – and a huge loss
Based on the wagers he's made public, Drake has now bet a total of $12.7 million on the UFC, and has made a profit with a total return of $13.5 million. He has lost 14 times, but won nine.
Undeterred by his losses, Drake continues to place huge bets on the UFC fights of the moment. In August, the hip-hop star was unlucky again, losing $450,000 when Israel Adesanya failed to beat Dricus Du Plessis. He would have taken $850,000 had he won.
From the bottom of my heart once again
— Dricus Du Plessis (@dricusduplessis) August 18, 2024
THANK YOU @Drake 🤣 pic.twitter.com/bcSiOjGezd
That’s not the first time Drake has lost betting on Adesanya, either. In November 2022, Drake’s biggest ever loss came when he bet on Adesanya to beat Alex Pereira at UFC 281. On that occasion, he lost $1.59 million. But a few months earlier, a bet on Adesanya to beat Jared Cannonier did win him $1 million.
Drake’s biggest win also came in 2022. He staked $2.2 million on both Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann to win. With his $3.7 million winnings, he celebrated by presenting them both with new Rolex watches.
Unfortunately, Drake has lost out when betting on UFC favorites on several occasions: notably Aljamain Sterling, Adesanya (three times), and Sean Strickland.
Drake wins $2.3M by Siding with the Swifties
Drake is no stranger to betting on the NFL. And while the curse has reared its ugly head on a few of these bets, the NFL is actually Drake’s most profitable sport, bringing in more than $2.1 million in winnings.
One of Drake’s biggest NFL wins to date came in February, when the singer captioned a post sharing his Super Bowl bet with “I can't bet against the Swifties." His $1.15 million bet on the Kansas City Chiefs at +104 odds won him $1.196 million.
Drake reveals he has bet 1.15 MILLION in Bitcoin crypto currency for the Kansas City Chiefs’ win at this year’s Superbowl:
— Pop Base (@PopBase) February 10, 2024
“I can’t bet against the swifties” pic.twitter.com/AqOjV9xtXv
Drake has defeated the alleged curse with NFL bets on a number of other occasions, too.
Drake placed a total of seven bets on Super Bowl LVII, between the Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. One of those bets was a $700,000 wager on Kansas City, which happened to be a winner.
Drake also bet $1.1 million on the Chiefs to beat the Bengals in the AFC Championship in the same season.
In early 2022, the star famously bet $600,000 in crypto on the Los Angeles Rams to win Super Bowl LVI over the Cincinnati Bengals. He also came out on top with a $500,000 bet on a touchdown by Rams wideout Odell Beckham Jr. in the same game. On that occasion, his winnings totaled more than $1.4 million.
Battling the Curse (and losing) with boxing bets
Drake’s boxing bets haven’t turned out quite as well as he might have hoped. Even while betting on favorites, the artist has suffered some incredibly high profile losses with his bets on the sport.
Overall, Drake is currently down by $1.3 million from his public boxing bets. He’s only won two of his last 10 bets on boxing matches.
Drake’s biggest boxing loss was a $615,000 bet on Francis Ngannou to beat Anthony Joshua in March.
It has not been all bad news for Drake’s boxing bets, however. His best bet on the sport was his correct prediction that Logan Paul would win against Dillon Danis in October 2023. Danis was disqualified in the match, which saw Drake triumph.
Is 'The Drake Curse' real?
Talk of The Drake Curse shows no sign of slowing down, but analysis of Drake’s bets in recent years gives a slightly more positive picture. When we look at the data from all of Drake’s public sports bets to date, we can see that he is currently up $2.2 million.
Drake’s winnings have taken a definite hit this year, however, leading many to suggest that the curse could be taking hold once again. The artist’s 2024 bets have brought in an overall loss of $1.38 million. Looking at his last 10 bets, he’s lost $1.94 million.
Not all of Drake’s bets will have been shared publicly, of course. But of those that have, we can see that he’s bet at least $30.3 million in more than 70 bets. He’s won on a total of 26 occasions, which means his strike rate now sits at 28.9%.
Cursed or not, the musician has definitely made a name for himself as a high roller. His average bet is a cool $433,000 - and many have been far higher than that. He’s now placed nine bets over $1 million.
Will Drake’s next bets cement his position as the high roller of hip-hop, or confirm the existence of The Drake Curse for good?
Drake's sports bets from 2022-23
| Date | Event | Bet | Win/Loss | Profit/Loss | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 16, 2023 | UFC 296 | Leon Edwards to KO Colby Covington | Loss | -$250,000 | +380 |
| Oct. 14, 2023 | Logan Paul vs. Dillon Danis | Logan Paul to KO Dillon Danis | Win | $501,500 | -169 |
| Sept. 9, 2023 | UFC 293 | Israel Adesanya to KO Sean Strickland | Loss | -$500,000 | -119 |
| Aug. 19, 2023 | UFC 292 | Aljamain Sterling to beat Sean O'Malley | Loss | -$500,000 | -244 |
| Aug. 5, 2023 | Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz | Nate Diaz to beat Jake Paul | Loss | -$250,000 | +300 |
| July 8, 2023 | UFC 290 | Alexander Volkanovski to beat Yair Rodriguez | Win | $270,000 | -370 |
| July 8, 2023 | UFC 290 | Alexander Volkanovski to KO Yair Rodriguez | Win | $462,500 | +185 |
| June 1, 2023 | NBA Playoffs '22/23 | Denver Nuggets to win NBA Finals | Win | $230,000 | -435 |
| June 1, 2023 | NBA Playoffs '22/23 | Denver Nuggets to win series 4-1 | Win | $600,000 | +240 |
| April 22, 2023 | Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia | Gervonta Davis to win in Round 1 | Loss | -$15,000 | +2,500 |
| April 22, 2023 | Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia | Gervonta Davis to win in Round 2 | Loss | -$15,000 | +2,100 |
| April 22, 2023 | Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia | Gervonta Davis to win in Round 3 | Loss | -$15,000 | +1,700 |
| April 22, 2023 | Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia | Gervonta Davis to beat Ryan Garcia | Win | $380,000 | -263 |
| April 8, 2023 | UFC 287 | Jorge Masvidal to beat Gilbert Burns | Loss | -$300,000 | +370 |
| April 8, 2023 | UFC 287 | Jorge Masvidal to KO Gilbert Burns | Loss | -$200,000 | +760 |
| April 8, 2023 | UFC 287 | Israel Adesanya to beat Alex Pereira | Win | $385,000 | -130 |
| April 8, 2023 | UFC 287 | Israel Adesanya to KO Alex Pereira | Win | $1.4 million | +360 |
| April 3, 2023 | NCAA National Championship | UConn to win by 6-10 points against San Diego State | Loss | -$250,000 | +334 |
| April 3, 2023 | NCAA National Championship | UConn to win by 11+ points against San Diego State | Win | $130,000 | +130 |
| April 1, 2023 | NCAA Tournament - Final Four 2023 | Florida Atlantic to beat San Diego State in 2x parlay Miami to beat UConn in 2x parlay |
Loss | -$250,000 | +532 |
| March 4, 2023 | UFC 285 | Jon Jones to KO Ciryl Gane | Loss | -$250,000 | +420 |
| March 4, 2023 | UFC 285 | Jon Jones to submit Ciryl Gane | Win | $1.45 million | +580 |
| Feb. 26, 2023 | Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury | Jake Paul to KO Tommy Fury | Loss | -$400,000 | +260 |
| Feb. 12, 2023 | Super Bowl LVII | Chiefs to win Super Bowl LVII | Win | $777,000 | +111 |
| Feb. 12, 2023 | Super Bowl LVII | Travis Kelce to win Super Bowl MVP | Loss | -$25,000 | +1,200 |
| Feb. 12, 2023 | Super Bowl LVII | Chiefs to win each quarter | Loss | -$30,000 | +2,000 |
| Feb. 12, 2023 | Super Bowl LVII | Chiefs to win both halves | Loss | -$50,000 | +400 |
| Feb. 12, 2023 | Super Bowl LVII | Juju Smith-Schuster to score 1st TD | Loss | -$50,000 | +900 |
| Feb. 12, 2023 | Super Bowl LVII | Patrick Mahomes to score 1st TD | Loss | -$50,000 | +1,400 |
| Feb. 12, 2023 | Super Bowl LVII | Tight End to win Super Bowl MVP | Loss | -$60,000 | +900 |
| Jan. 29, 2023 | AFC Championship | Chiefs to beat Bengals | Win | $957,000 | -115 |
| Jan. 29, 2023 | NFC Championship | 49ers to beat Eagles | Loss | -$850,000 | +125 |
| Dec. 18, 2022 | World Cup '22 | Argentina to beat France in 90 minutes | Loss | -$1 million | +175 |
| Nov. 12, 2022 | UFC 281 | Israel Adesanya to beat Alex Pereira | Loss | -$1.59 million | -222 |
| Oct. 16, 2022 | Premier League/La Liga | Arsenal to beat Leeds United in 2x parlay Barcelona to beat Real Madrid in 2x parlay |
Loss | -$600,345 | +368 |
| Sept. 30, 2022 | NFL Regular Season 2022 | Dolphins to beat Bengals in 3x parlay | Loss | -$208,645 | +978 |
| Aug. 20, 2022 | UFC 278 | Kamaru Usman to KO Leon Edwards | Loss | -$149,000 | +260 |
| Aug. 20, 2022 | UFC 278 | Kamaru Usman to win in Round 4 | Loss | -$49,790 | +1,600 |
| Aug. 20, 2022 | UFC 278 | Jose Aldo to beat Merab Dvalishvili | Loss | -$238,934 | +116 |
| July 23, 2022 | UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall | Molly McCann & Paddy Pimblett to win | Win | $1.42 million | -161 |
| July 2, 2022 | UFC 276 | Israel Adesanya to beat Jared Cannonier | Win | $285,714 | -350 |
| June 18, 2022 | NBA Western Conference | Warriors to win conference | Win | $800,000 | +400 |
| June 5, 2022 | NHL 2022 | Rangers to beat Lightning in 2x parlay | Loss | -$273,612 | +257 |
| May 22, 2022 | Spanish Grand Prix 2022 | Charles Leclerc to win | Loss | -$233,400 | +150 |
| May 16, 2022 | NBA Conference Semifinals | Mavericks to beat Suns in 1/3x parlay | Win | $1.17 million | +764 |
| May 16, 2022 | NHL Playoffs '21/22 | Rangers to beat Penguins in 1/3x parlay Flames to beat Stars in 2/3x parlay |
Win | $657,267 | +764 |
| May 12, 2022 | NHL Playoffs '21/22 | Lighting to beat Maple Leafs in 7-game series | Win | $800,000 | +200 |
| May 7, 2022 | UFC 274 | Justin Gaethje to beat Charles Oliveira | Loss | -$427,000 | +150 |
| April 28, 2022 | NFL Draft | Drake London to be 1st WR drafted | Win | $235,000 | +235 |
| April 25, 2022 | NBA Playoffs 2022 | Nets, Mavericks, Blue Jays 3x parlay | Loss | -$400,160 | +459 |
| April 3, 2022 | NCAA Tournament - Final Four 2022 | Duke to beat North Carolina | Loss | -$100,000 | -192 |
| March 6, 2022 | UFC 272 | Jorge Masvidal to beat Colby Covington | Loss | -$275,000 | +275 |
| Feb. 13, 2022 | Super Bowl 2022 | Rams to win Super Bowl LVI | Win | $306,000 | -196 |
| Feb. 13, 2022 | Super Bowl 2022 | Odell Beckham Jr. over 62.5 receiving yards | Loss | -$500,000 | -123 |
| Feb. 13, 2022 | Super Bowl 2022 | Odell Beckham Jr. to score TD | Win | $575,000 | +115 |
