Drake on Brink of $1M Bitcoin Loss as NHL and NBA Bets Sour

Canadian singer Drake is on the cusp of losing $1 million worth of crypto after he placed two individual $500,000 bets on the Edmonton Oilers and the Dallas Mavericks to win their respective Stanley Cup and NBA finals.

The Oilers lost their third straight game against the Florida Panthers in the hockey championship on Thursday whilst the Mavericks are down 3-0 in the basketball tournament after losing in consecutive games against the Boston Celtics. Both contests are best-of-seven series.

Drake indicated on June 6 that he had placed the bets on crypto casino Stake using bitcoin (BTC) by posting the betting slips on Instagram, accompanied by a message: “Dallas cause I’m a Texan. Oilers are self explanatory. Picks in are @stake.”

It’s worth pointing out that Drake has had partnerships with Stake in the past, so he may have an incentive to post about his bets on the platform, even if they don’t pay off. Stake partnered with Drake in 2022 in a deal that the singer described as “inevitable.” Stake made $2.6 billion in revenue in the same year.

Drake stood to win $1.025 million and $1.375 million if the Oilers and Mavericks managed to win their respective series, according to the betting slips. To date, no NBA team has ever managed to win a series in the playoffs or finals after being down three games with no wins.

Drake won’t have to wait long to know the outcome of both bets; tipoff for game 4 of the NBA Finals is Friday whilst the Oilers play Saturday. Both teams need to avoid defeat to extend the series.

The 37-year-old is no stranger to losing bitcoin by betting on sports. He also placed a $615,000 bet on Francis Ngannou to beat Anthony Joshua in a boxing bout in March; Joshua ended up winning by knockout in the second round.