Soccer is one of the most wagered-on sports in the world. Unlike many traditional North American sports that result in one team winning the game, soccer matches have a greater chance of ending in a tie. Rapper Drake found this out the hard way.
What Happened: The 2022 World Cup is over after 64 games and Argentina has been crowned champion from the 32 teams that started the tournament.
The World Cup final was an exciting game for those who watched it on Fox FOX, Comcast Corporation CMCSA owned streaming platform Peacock, or their respective local provider of coverage.
After taking a 2-0 lead in the game, Argentina found themselves tied with France after two late goals in the game by France’s Kylian Mbappe. The game ended 2-2 in regulation time and headed to extra time.
In the extra time, Argentina and France both scored, once again keeping the game level. A penalty shootout saw Argentina win the game with a score of 4-2 in the penalty kicks.
In soccer matches, there are several betting options including betting on one team winning, the other team winning or a draw.
Bettors can also bet on each team with a win or draw option, where they get paid a lower payout if the team they bet on wins or draws in regulation time. Bettors can also bet on an option called draw no bet. Under this option, the bettor wins a lower amount if the team they backed wins and if there is a draw in regulation the bet is pushed.
The group stage games of the World Cup all ended in regulation, with teams earning 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
The games after the group stage were all elimination games, with a winner needing to be declared either from added time or from a penalty kicks shootout. In these games, bettors could also bet on a team to advance.
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Drake and Other Big Bets: Rapper Drake was among the people who bet on the 2022 World Cup. Drake, who has a partnership with Stake, bet $1 million on Argentina to beat France in the 2022 World Cup.
The bet paid out a potential $2.75 million if Argentina won the match. The catch is that Drake bet strictly on the win-in-regulation option, giving his bet a cash out of zero and a loss of $1 million.
Drake is no stranger to sports betting thanks to his partnership with Stake, which is featured in his pinned Twitter post. Drake bet millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin BTC/USD on Super Bowl LVI betting on the Los Angeles Rams and prop bets on wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
Earlier this season, Drake placed a parlay bet of $208,644.85 on three NFL teams to win. Only one of the three teams won, continuing what many people on social media have pointed to as a Drake curse where betting against his picks is the safer play.
Another big bet on the 2022 World Cup was placed by Twitch streamer xQc. The streamer bet $500,000 on France to win the World Cup, saying he told his viewers that France was the pick from the start. While France did not win the match or win in regulation, xQc could have gotten a portion of his bet back.
xQc watched the game live and after Argentina took a 2-0 lead, he gave up on any hope of a comeback for France and took a cash out of $5,000, losing $495,000. Had the streamer waited until France scored their first or second goal, the cash out option would have been much larger and perhaps would have resulted in a break-even bet.
Another bettor with a huge potential payout from the 2022 World Cup was Daniel Forte who placed a seven-leg parlay on several champion winners including France.
With the first six legs of the parlay hit, Forte had the option of letting the $26 wager ride for a chance to win $557,770.91 or take a cash payout ahead of the World Cup.
Forte took the payout of $283,538.52 ahead of the 2022 World Cup, which ended up being the correct decision with France losing. He netted a huge profit on the original $26 bet.
Read Next: Winning The World Cup Can Actually Give Argentina A GDP Boost
Photo: Courtesy of Revol Web on Flickr and Drake Live at Walmart Soundcheck on Wikimedia Commons
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