Conor McGregor's Online Gambling Hits and Misses

When infamous UFC champion turned online celebrity Conor McGregor first announced his endorsement of crypto gambling, we knew that he would become a popular fixture in igaming newsfeeds.

Not one to do things in half measures, the feisty Irishman celebrated his induction into the pantheon of Bitcoin casino gamblers by dropping $1 million on a variety of crash games, online slots and live dealer table games.

 Hit: Go Big or Go Home

While spending that kind of money on his first-ever livestream on Kick was a great way to grab headlines, it was not a one-off publicity stunt. Since then, McGregor has proved that he is both a hard hitter and a high roller by doling out big boy stakes on a variety of games and events, including the Euro 2024.

While celebrating his birthday on 14 July, McGregor bet Spain would win the Euro 2024 Championship. The wager turned out to be good for the fighter, as his "La Furia Roja—Spain to Win Euro 2024 Outright" prediction was in the money, with Spain beating the England squad 2-1 to claim the trophy.

The self-styled ‘Notorious’ had put down €83,500, and with 11/1 odds, Spain’s last-minute victory in the finals secured him a cool €1,002,000 payday! Not a bad gift to receive on your birthday!

Miss: Not Close Enough

McGregor was so bullish about the chances of Spain thrashing England that he had doubled down on their success. Not only did he have them as the outright winners of the Euro 2024 Championship, but he also placed a second wager on the final score.

He went to social media platform X on 13 July, formerly Twitter, to say:

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“Hey guys, Spain are winning 3-1 tomorrow. I have placed €100k on Duelbits at the amazing odds of 19/1. This result will see me take in €2m cash as well as the €1.1m I will cash on them just winning! €3.1m all in! The match is on my birthday!”

However, on his birthday, he posted an update clarifying that the odds had been updated and that a 3-1 win from Spain would net him an astounding €2.6 million. He revealed that if Spain performs as expected, "The rich get richer," with him standing to make €3.7 million.

The finals were a hard-fought battle, not the cakewalk he expected. Spain's second and winning goal came in the 86th minute, thanks to the skill and precision of Spanish substitute Mikel Oyarzabal.

McGregor also lost another €60,000 on his bet that all-star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo would retain his Golden Boot award at the Euros. Instead, this year saw a 6-way tie for the award with Harry Kane (England), Dani Olmo (Spain), Georges Mikautadze (Georgia), Cody Gakpo (the Netherlands), Ivan Schranz (Slovakia) and Jamal Musiala (Germany) all ending on 3 goals.

In this instance, assists would be used as a tie-breaker. EUEFA suspended this practice for the first time for the Euro 2024 tournament. Had they followed tradition, Spain's Dani Olmo would have been the outright winner.