The Grammy-winning rapper Drake has opened up about his devastating gambling losses, revealing he’s down an eye-watering $8 million over the past month alone. The Canadian superstar took to Instagram Stories to share the harsh reality of his betting struggles with his millions of followers.
Drake has developed a notorious reputation for placing high-stakes bets on MMA and boxing, often publicly sharing his wagers—sometimes in the millions—via social media. Over the years, the Canadian rapper has backed some of the sport’s biggest names, including Conor McGregor, Israel Adesanya, and Tyson Fury. While his involvement has added a layer of spectacle to combat sports, it’s also fueled the myth of the “Drake Curse”—a running joke that whoever Drake publicly supports is doomed to lose. Despite occasional wins, like Adesanya’s successful title defense at UFC 287, his betting history is littered with expensive losses, reinforcing the superstition and making him a reluctant talisman of misfortune in the MMA world.
“Gotta share the other side of gambling…” the 38-year-old In My Feelings artist wrote candidly. “Losses are so fried right now… I hope I can post a big one for you soon cause I’m the only one that has never seen a Max these guys Max once a week.”
The Toronto native, whose full name is Aubrey Drake Graham, didn’t stop there. Despite his massive losses, he doubled down with new wagers totaling $800,000 on the NBA Finals matchup between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Drake placed two significant bets backing the Thunder to claim the championship. His first wager involved putting up $200,000 to win $712,000, betting that the Thunder would defeat the Pacers by a margin of 6-10 points. His second bet was a straight moneyline wager of $600,000 to win $222,000, backing the Thunder to win outright.
The What’s My Name? rapper even tagged Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in his post, writing “Check that box @shai,” though the NBA star had not responded as of Wednesday evening.
This latest gambling revelation adds to Drake’s well-documented history of high-stakes betting and unfortunate outcomes. The First Person Shooter performer has become synonymous with what fans call the “Drake Curse” – a phenomenon where teams and athletes he publicly supports tend to underperform.
His track record includes backing the Toronto Raptors, Edmonton Oilers, and Canada’s men’s national soccer team, all of whom fell short of expectations after receiving his endorsement. The curse even seemed to extend to baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani, whose interpreter was arrested in a gambling scandal shortly after Drake was photographed wearing the player’s jersey.
Drake joins a growing list of celebrities who have struggled with gambling, including Bravo personality Kim Zolciak, actor Ben Affleck, and the late comedian Norm MacDonald. However, few have been as public about their losses or continued betting despite such significant setbacks.
The timing of Drake’s gambling confession comes as he faces other challenges in his career, including his highly publicized feud with fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar, who targeted him in the diss track “Not Like Us.”
