Drake Retires from Sports Betting After Major Super Bowl Loss

The Toronto rapper notorious for placing bets that don’t go his way, Drake, has announced that he is retiring from sports betting after his Super Bowl bet on the New England Patriots didn’t go as planned, resulting in a $1 million loss for the music icon. 

Before the Super Bowl LX kickoff, which saw the Patriots take on the Seattle Seahawks, Drake took to Instagram with a snapshot of his $1 million wager on the Patriots, with the caption “Bet against me if you dare.” If the Patriots had won the Super Bowl, Drake would have been privy to a $2.95 million return. 

Unfortunately for him, the dreaded ‘Drake Curse’ struck again, and the Patriots lost 29-13. 

The curse has plagued Drake for years now, taking hold of the rapper in 2019 when he turned up to an NHL playoff game between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs, where the Leafs lost to the Bruins 6-4.

Drake actually lost money on the Leafs last May, wagering $1.25 million on them to beat the Florida Panthers. They lost again. Another untimely wager came at the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix. He placed a $200,000 bet on Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc to win despite Mercedes driver George Russell placing pole in qualification. 

Leclerc ended up not winning the race, with both Mercedes drivers and his Ferrari teammate, Carlos Sainz, ending up on Sunday’s podium. 

Despite his bad luck, Drake continued to place his wagers, and the Drake Curse continued to grow. But with the Patriots' defeat, it seems like Drake has had enough. He took to social media last week and shared a video of himself playing roulette with the caption, “I’m off sports betting… sticking to what I know…”

Only time will tell now if Drake actually ends up sticking to his self-proclaimed sports betting exile. 

It's a bad day for the best sports betting sites.

Kalshi Super Bowl trading volume hits $1 Billion  

As Drake quits sports betting following his $1 million loss, prediction market operator Kalshi celebrated surpassing $1 billion in trading volume on the Super Bowl, a 2,700% year-over-year increase.  

CEO of Kalshi, Tarek Mansour, said in an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Boc that it had been an “incredible weekend”, as Kalshi users traded on a variety of events in the week before and during the game.  

Prediction market apps offered a number of contracts tied to the game, not just on the outcome, but on the halftime performer, Bad Bunny. A contract for the halftime opening song generated over $100 million in handle, including details on who would appear alongside him.  

“Kalshi was the biggest brand of the Super Bowl this year, without running a Super Bowl ad, and the way we achieved that is the product,” said Mansour.  

While the platform saw success, the big day didn’t go without a hitch, with co-founder Luana Lopes Lara stating that due to the high volume of users, some payouts were delayed.