Canadian rapper Drake is backing his home country with a large bet in the 2024 Copa America tournament.
The bet comes with Drake's Team Canada a heavy underdog against Lionel Messi and Argentina.
What Happened: No stranger to betting on sports, Drake has placed a $300,000 wager in Bitcoin BTC/USD on Canada to defeat Argentina in the Copa America semifinal Tuesday night.
The wager was placed with cryptocurrency betting company Stake, which Drake is partnered with, and calls for Canada to win the match in regulation.
Argentina entered the tournament as the number one team in the world and the betting favorite to win the Copa at odds of +175. With Brazil out of the tournament, Argentina's odds to win the Copa America now sit at -125, ranking ahead of other semifinalists Uruguay (+260), Colombia (+350) and Canada (+2,500) according to sportsbook DraftKings Inc DKNG.
Drake shared the $300,000 bet on his Instagram with the caption "This could get Messi," in reference to soccer superstar and Argentina great Lionel Messi.
The wager will pay out $2,880,000 if Canada gets the win in regular time.
Tuesday's match airs on FS1, a unit of Fox Corporation FOX FOXA, at 8 p.m. ET.
Argentina defeated Canada, who is ranked 48th in the world, in the group stage 2-0. Argentina went on to win Group A and Canada finished in second place to advance to the knockout rounds. In their earlier meeting, Argentina scored both goals in the second half and had 64.4% possession. Argentina also won the shots on goal battle 9-2. Canada played strong in the first half before losing momentum against the world powerhouse.
Why It's Important: The wager by Drake is a big one, with a massive payout if his home country can pull off one of the biggest soccer upsets in recent years.
For Canada, winning the match would be a monumental outcome. Pushing the game into extra time and progressing to the final would also represent a major achievement for Canada—considerations Drake might have weighed before placing his bet.
If Canada and Argentina remain tied after 90 minutes, the match will go to a penalty kick shootout. Unlike many other international tournaments, Copa America skips a period of extra time (two 15-minute halves) and goes straight to the final tiebreaker.
Both Canada and Argentina won their quarterfinals matches in a penalty kick shootout. Argentina's goalie Emiliano Martinez is considered one of the best in penalty kicks, which could be due to his questionable antics and mind games against the opposition.
Canada winning in a penalty kick shootout would be a win for Drake's home country, but a loss for his bank account. Instead, Drake may have wanted to wager on the to advance line, with Canada listed at +425 and Argentina listed at -700. While the payout is lower, it eliminates a potential risk that burned the rapper before.
Drake backed Argentina to win the 2022 World Cup over France with a $1 million bet on Argentina to win the match. The match went to extra time with Argentina eventually winning in a penalty kick shootout.
Instead of winning his bet, Drake lost $1 million from backing Argentina to win in regulation.
Drake recently lost $1 million from bets on the Dallas Mavericks to win the NBA Championship and the Edmonton Oilers to win the Stanley Cup.
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