Canadian rapper Drake has bet a total of $1 million worth of Bitcoin on basketball and ice hockey. The musician took to Instagram on 6 June to share his bets, revealing that he had bet an even amount on both the Dallas Mavericks and the Edmonton Oilers.
The Edmonton Oilers beat the Florida Panthers 8-1 in Game Four of the Stanley Cup on Saturday 15 June. On the same day, the Dallas Mavericks beat the Celtics 122 to 84. Following a series of poor performances from both teams, these recent victories suggest that Drake could be on course to make a huge profit from sports betting this month.
Drake’s Instagram post also revealed that he had placed each bet on the sports wagering site Stake. To bet on upcoming Stanley Cup and NBA games, use one of the safe online casinos listed by Sportscasting. These sites offer huge welcome bonuses, free spins, and crypto compatibility.
Drake’s bets
Drake’s Instagram post revealed that the rapper has wagered $500,000 on the Dallas Mavericks to win the NBA Finals. The betting slip also shows an estimated payout of $1,375,000 – the most potentially lucrative win of Drake’s two recent bets.
In the caption, Drake stated: “Dallas cause I’m a Texan”. While the rapper is not actually Texan, he has long had an association with Houston. He also recently bought a $15 million ranch in the Lone Star State.
In the second slide of Drake’s post, another betting slip shows that the rapper has also put down $500,000 on the Edmonton Oilers to win the NHL playoff. This slide shows that Drake could receive a payout of $1,025,000 should the Oilers win.
The Instagram caption also stated: “Oilers are self-explanatory”. Drake isn’t from Edmonton – he’s from Vancouver. However, it’s assumed he’s backing the Oilers given that they’re the last Canadian team standing in the competition.
Poor performance by both teams
Both of the teams that Drake decided to back had been performing poorly in the lead-up to their respective games on Saturday 15 June. On 13 June, the Oilers lost against the Florida Panthers, which marked the third game the team had lost in a row.
The Panthers were similarly losing consecutively in their best-of-seven series. They were down three games with no wins. To this date, no NBA team has ever managed to win the final after losing consecutively on the build-up to the final, so the Panthers’ chances were slim.
However, the recent victories for both teams beg the question: could Drake be on course to scoop $2,400,000 worth of Bitcoin this summer?
Either way, it wouldn’t matter much to the rapper, given that his current net worth is estimated as $250 million.
Drake’s previous wins
Drake has a habit of betting large amounts of Bitcoin on his favorite sports stars and teams. Luckily for him, these bets often go his way. For example, back in March, the 37-year-old wagered $675,000 in Bitcoin on Alex Pereira to beat Jamahal Hill at UFC 300.
Pereira knocked Hill out within the first round after landing 24 strikes and a brutal left hook to finish him off. Not only did Pereira win, but Drake also received a payout of $1,194,750.
This $1 million win for Drake perhaps gave him the confidence to bet $1 million on the Oilers and the Panthers.
However, despite this recent win, Drake has also made some bad errors of judgment when it comes to sports betting. In the same month that the rapper won $1 million, he lost $615,000 when he bet on Francis Ngannou to beat Anthony Joshua. Unfortunately for Drake, Anthony Joshua beat Ngannou with a second-round knockout.
Drake’s partnership with Stake
Based on Drake’s Instagram activity, the rapper seems to favor the betting site Stake when placing sports bets. Drake actually partnered with the sports betting site in 2020, which explains why he promotes the site so much on his social media accounts.
When Drake announced his partnership with the betting platform, Stake’s credibility instantly went up, with many of the rapper’s fans turning to the Australian-Curaçaoan casino to place their sports bets.
Other celebrities who like to place crypto bets
Drake isn’t the only mainstream celebrity who publicizes their crypto betting activity. Many actors and musicians have partnered with online casinos – some have even started their own.
For example, DJ Khaled and DJ Marshmello created FanChain casino which is powered by their own FanChain cryptocurrency.
Plus, Donald Trump recently embraced cryptocurrency on his Truth Social, stating: “We want all the remaining Bitcoin to be MADE IN THE USA!!!”
This enthusiasm is surprising, given that Trump denounced cryptocurrency as a “scam” while still in office. So, we could hear about the former president placing a sports bet or two in the near future.