Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Drake placed a massive wager on one team ahead of Sunday's World Cup final against the reigning European champion.
- His history of backing teams has led to widespread superstition about his influence on outcomes, despite mixed betting records across sports.
- The final could either validate his pick or add another chapter to the ongoing debate about whether his support actually impacts results.
Five-time Grammy Award-winning rapper Drake is backing Argentina to lift the World Cup trophy on Sunday over Spain. He posted a bet slip from Stake to his Instagram on Friday displaying his $1.5 million wager on La Albiceleste to become the first repeat World Cup champions since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.
Argentina has been the comeback kid during the 2026 tournament, winning two of it's last four knockout stage games in comeback fashion, with the other pair featuring intense back-and-forth competition. Led by 39-year-old Lionel Messi, the Argentines are facing their toughest test yet in reigning European champion Spain.
Drake famously has a terrible track record when betting on sports. It's so bad, he's become an internet meme for essentially cursing whatever team he supports whether via wager or wearing their merch. The latest example of his "curse" came July 10 when he placed $1 million on Conor McGregor to defeat Max Holloway. If you're an Argentina fan, it's best to probably click away from this point on (please don't).
Is the Drake Curse real? Sports teams hate to see Champagne Papi supporting them
According to a website dedicated to tracking Drake's sports betting history, the data is rather mixed about the superstition surrounding his supposed curse on teams he supports. Overall Drake is down $1.56 million all-time across 87 publicly recorded wagers (32 wins, 55 losses).
He's batting .368 which would put him in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but he's 0-for-1 in wagers for that specific sport, losing nearly $136,000. His best hit rate actually comes in -- checks notes -- cricket with an undefeated 3-0 record and just under $1 million in profit.
However, soccer fans shouldn't be looking to Champagne Papi for betting advice. Fútbol is his least profitable venture by far with a 2-4 record and $1.67 million in losses. If the curse holds true, he's about to nearly double the depth of that hole by backing Messi and Argentina. He correctly picked them to win in 2022 but hilariously made the wager as a winner-in-90-minutes bet. Argentina needed penalty kicks to vanquish France in Qatar.
Typically the Drake Curse applies to when he bets big on a favorite to win a competition. He's lost 11 of those types of wagers, but Argentina is technically an underdog entering Sunday's final. Though public opinion would make the defending world champions out to be invincible given their cockroach-like tendencies.
Of course, the internet will add to its undefeated record should Spain emerge victorious. Drake will be dragged yet again for backing the wrong horse and losing an exorbitant amount of money (chump change to him though). He hasn't won a wager over $1 million since the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII in 2024.
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