Drake Bets Big on Canada and Wins

Canada's FIFA World Cup '26 dream ended earlier than many of their fans had hoped when Morocco knocked the co-hosts out of the tournament in the Round of 16.

One of their most famous supporters, global music superstar Drake, found himself in the spotlight yet again for a shrewd bet at Stake Casino. Drake adopted a sensible and pragmatic approach, backing Canada to qualify from their group instead of merely winning the match against South Africa. 

As expected, the bold wager attracted plenty of media attention.

A Focus on Qualification, Not Outright Win 

Drake is well-known for placing high-profile bets on major events, then sharing his betting slips with his millions of social media followers. 

The megastar's choice of a prop bet was interesting because outright World Cup match winners are notoriously tricky to predict and odds are generally restrictive, whereas prop wagers often offer more attractive returns with lower risk. 

Drake staked $770,000 on Canada to qualify ahead of South Africa in the World Cup Round of 32. When Canada won, their 1-0 victory returned $1.001 million, earning him a profit of about $231,000, and his team's progression beyond the group stage before their World Cup 2026 adventure ended in the knockouts.

Drake and Stake’s Collab

Drake's relationship with Stake has become one of the most recognisable celebrity partnerships in the world of online gambling. The partnership has seen Drake place huge bets on sporting events, crash games, and video slots, with many of his wagers generating headlines regardless of whether they win or not.

While neither Drake nor Stake has publicly disclosed the precise financial terms of their agreement, industry estimates have speculated that the singer's role as brand ambassador is worth well over $100 million, while some have claimed the figure to be as high as $180 million per year. 

Those figures have never been confirmed, nor has the conjecture that the megastar’s bets are “subsidised” by the global brand, but they do underscore the scale of the collaboration within the online gambling industry.

Big Bets and Viral Moments

Drake's betting activity has become almost as famous as his music career. In 2021, the rapper began a high-profile partnership with Stake, becoming the face of the crypto casino and its biggest celebrity ambassador. 

He regularly livestreams million-dollar gambling sessions, turning betting into entertainment for millions of followers.

Here are some of the most memorable incidents from the more recent past: 

• January 2025: The rapper reportedly won around AU$700,000 gambling at Melbourne's Crown Casino shortly after arriving for his Australian tour.
• February 2025: A viral Sydney penthouse drone video showed Drake throwing a sandal at a drone while the Stake homepage was open on his laptop. Fans, however, quickly spotted clues suggesting the drone incident was a carefully staged Stake promotional campaign.
• March 2025: The musician rented an entire nightclub for a private Stake gambling session while Sabrina Carpenter's "Espresso" played in the background.
• July 2026: The star collected just over $1 million from a $770,000 Canadian qualification bet in WC2026, briefly removing the "Drake Curse" from the punting public’s imagination.

The "Drake Curse"

Drake’s habit of posting his betting slips on social media before sports events has helped create the internet phenomenon commonly known as the "Drake Curse", where fans joke that the athletes or teams he supports are doomed to lose.

Despite the superstition, many sports fans continue to follow his betting activity simply because of the size of the stakes and their entertainment value. His willingness to make those bets public has kept Stake in the conversation during the carefully orchestrated and lucrative marketing stunts.

Canada's elimination from WC2026 may have disappointed host nation football fans, but Drake's bet generated huge interest, which, in marketing terms, is a surefire winner, regardless of the actual result.

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