Drake 'curse' comes true after betting $1,500,000 on Argentina to win World Cup
As soon as Drake placed a $1.5 million bet on Argentina winning the World Cup, many thought their fate was sealed.
And it turned out they were right, as Spain romped to victory in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, beating Messi and co. 1-0 in the final at the MetLife Stadium in the US.
Immediately following the final whistle, a scuffle even erupted on stage as Argentinian players appeared to confront and square up to their opponents, leading top players needing to be pulled apart.
Last night's result means Argentina have lost out on $7 million, the difference between the $34 million prize money for the runners-up and the $51 million prize pot for the victors.
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But Drake was also licking his wounds, since if his bet had come in, the payout on the stake could have been in excess of $5.1 million.
The rapper has a history of ill-fated big-money sports bets, so much so that his endorsement is considered something of a poison chalice.
But looking at his bets this year, is the Drake curse as true as everyone claims?
Drake's 2026 sports bets
Conor McGregor vs Max Holloway - UFC - July 12
Drake had previously placed a $1 million wager on Conor McGregor to win the UFC tournament against Max Holloway, sharing his betslip to Instagram with the caption: "THE MAC IS BACK?!?!??"
Except Holloway scored a technical knockout in 69 seconds, leaving Drake out of pocket - he could have won a $2.85 million payout if McGregor had won.
Canada vs Morocco - World Cup round of 16 - July 4
Naturally, Drake was backing his home country earlier on in the World Cup, but he wrote on Instagram that he was 'gonna try reverse curse strategy' with a $1 million bet on Morocco instead.
But Drake's curse didn't work on this occasion, with Canada instead crashing out of the tournament in dramatic fashion, losing 0-3 to Morocco.
He took home $1.4 million in winnings, but may well have preferred for his team to have qualified.
Drake also won a bet the previous week that Canada would beat South Africa in the round of 32, taking home around $1 million in winnings.
New England Patriots vs Seattle Seahawks - Super Bowl - February 8
Earlier in the year, Drake bet $1 million the Patriots would triumph against favorites the Seahawks at the Super Bowl.
That didn't happen, unfortunately for him.
The 'Drake Curse' has become such a running joke that the rapper himself has even responded to it publicly on several occasions.
He once told online casino and betting company Stake: “The Drake curse is funny to me, honestly. First of all, the Raptors won a championship, so nobody could ever talk to me about the Drake Curse."
At the time of his ill-fated bet on Argentina, Drake also took to social media to show off his betting slip, referencing a previous unsuccessful bet in 2022.
He wrote: “What’s that saying??? Better luck next time…say less."
The 2022 bet was also for Argentina to win the World Cup in their final match against France.
Argentina, of course, did go on to win the 2022 World Cup, so you might think that the 'curse' would be lifted by this.
But that sadly did not prove to be the case at all, as Drake had also made a particular stipulation in this bet, which was that Argentina would win within the 90 minute time frame.
And while they did claim victory, it was in extra time, so Drake lost out.
Where is the next World Cup?
Morocco, Portugal and defending champions Spain will co-host the FIFA World Cup in 2030, marking the football tournament’s 100th anniversary.
It’s set to run from June 8 2030 to July 21 2030, making it the longest World Cup in history at 44 days.
FIFA also announced that three separate matches will take place in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, as a tribute to the first-ever World Cup back in 1930.
All six host nations will automatically qualify, which means we'll definitely be seeing Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay in at least the group stages.
In Spain, matches will take place in Barcelona, Bilbao, Las Palmas, Madrid, San Sebastian, Seville, Valencia, Vigo and Zaragoza.
In Portugal, stadiums in Lisbon and Porto have been earmarked, while the games in Morocco will be played in Agadir, Casablanca, Fez, Marrakesh, Rabat and Tangier.
Plus the three special opening centenary games will be played at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, Argentina; the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay; and the Estadio Osvaldo Dominguez Dibb in Asuncion, Paraguay.
Kit Roberts