What’s the Deal With Drake & Gambling? – Net Worth, Gambling History & the Drake Curse

Drake and his gambling habits are back in the headlines following his stunning $2.34M win on Super Bowl Sunday. The so-called “Drake Curse” is supposedly off after he bet $1.15M on the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the San Francisco 49ers outright at +104, giving him a nice payout of $2,346,000.

In this article, we’ll touch on Drake’s net worth, his notable gambling wins and losses, as well as the “Drake Curse” itself.

How Much is Drake Worth?

According to various sources across the internet, Drake has a net worth of around $250 million.

In addition to the Canadian rapper, singer, and actor’s eight studio albums (all of which have peaked at #1 in the US), his concert tours are amongst the most popular in the world, helping him generate his massive wealth.

Drake also signed a lucrative deal with Universal Music Group for a reported $400M in early 2022, which is believed to be the largest such deal in history.

Drake has also had many huge risks pay off, which can perhaps explain his propensity to gamble at high stakes.

From placing sports wagers at the best gambling sites to enjoying a spin on the roulette wheels of Vegas, Drake does it all. It’s believed he has profited approximately $40M-$50M during his lifetime.

Drake currently heads the OVO fashion label and the Nocta collaboration with Nike. He founded the OVO Sound record label and helped create the Virginia Black whiskey brand.

With so many business ventures and a highly successful career in the arts, it’s no wonder Drake’s net worth has reached $250 million.

Drake’s Notable Gambling Wins & Losses

Drake has accrued billions of dollars in wagers, most notably playing roulette on Stake, a popular crypto casino where he has a partnership.

Drake regularly places six and seven-figure wagers on high-profile sporting events as well, though many of his big-money wagers have not been so successful.

In 2022, Drake and French Montana teamed up for a roulette stream. At the start of the stream, Drake had $9.2M in his account and started out with a $645,000 spin.

He would fire off huge numbers bets and at one point landed his favorite number (11) for an unbelievable $13M hit to send his account to over $27M.

He started upping his bets to around $950,000 and hit it again later in the stream for another $12M to send his account back over $20M.

Their luck would run dry and Drake ended the stream with a meager $1,879.83 in his balance.

Recently, the Super Bowl has been Drake’s best friend.

Drake won his $1.15M Super Bowl wager on the Chiefs for $2.34M in 2024 after winning his $700,000 wager for a $1.48M on the Chiefs the year prior.

In 2022, he placed a $1.25M wager on the heavily-favored Rams to beat the Bengals, which they did by just three points, giving Drake a nice $300,000 payday.

However, Drake’s sports betting doesn’t always go the right way, and often doesn’t.

His rate of betting incorrectly on high-profile sporting contests has been so high that many believe in a so-called “Drake Curse.” More on that below.

The Drake Curse

Unfortunately for Drake, his name has been synonymous with being a bandwagon fan that loses sports bets.

For some time, Drake’s streak of picking losers was so bad that a large population of the betting public would immediately fade whatever he picked as they believed/believe that a “Drake Curse” was in effect.

It doesn’t even have to be an actual bet, as many have linked Drake wearing a team’s jersey with an impending defeat.

Drake started off the year betting $700,000 on Sean Strickland to retain his UFC middleweight title and beat Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297. The South African won by decision, leading to several memes like this one:

In the past, at UFC 293, Drake put a $500,000 wager on the heavily-favored Israel Adesanya to knock out Strickland at -119. Strickland, of course, pulled off the upset despite being nearly a +500 underdog.

The list goes on and on, as you would expect. Here are some famous examples of the Drake Curse:

• Jake Paul ($1.2M bet) – Defeated by Tommy Fury by decision.
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – Met Drake after starting his career 2-for-8. Proceeded to go on a 2-for-15 slump.
• 2019 Toronto Maple Leafs – Eliminated after Drake watched Game 7 vs the Boston Bruins. Toronto lead the series 3 games to 2.
• 2018-19 Alabama Crimson Tide – Got destroyed 44-16 in the College Football Playoff National Championship after Drake sported its logo before the game.
• Connor McGregor – Submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 after Drake was a constant presence in McGregor’s team leading up to the fight.
• 2016 Golden State Warriors ($60K bet) – Lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals despite finishing the regular season with an NBA-record 73-9 mark.
• Serena Williams at the 2015 U.S. Open – Drake had been seen kissing Serena Williams and was on hand for her US Open semifinal, where Serena was attempting to win the first calendar Grand Slam since 1988. She was upset by unseeded Roberta Vinci of Italy 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, who was as much as a 300:1 underdog coming into the match. Some call this the biggest upset in the history of tennis.

Drake’s Partnership with Stake

According to the Financial Times, Drake and Stake teamed up on a $100M endorsement deal in 2022, despite Drake signing up for the website in late 2021.

Drake has helped turn Stake into a household name in the online casino gaming industry, advertising the client on his Twitch stream and social media channels ever since.

At some point, Drake became a co-owner of the client and undoubtedly profits off the masses.

Drake’s impact on the casino client has been so profound that they have even set up a Drake x Stake collaboration, where Drake routinely gives away money, to the tune of $25,000 or more, to Stake users on his stream. Fans are treated to an interactive experience with one of the biggest stars on the planet.

While Drake has had a huge impact on the industry, the partnership has been met with some criticism, alleging that the superstar has helped fuel the rise in gambling among young people. Stake reportedly brought in a gross revenue of $2.6B in 2022.