Sports Betting

Drake made a lofty wager on the Kansas City Chiefs, and it paid off for him.

The rapper put down a $1.15 million bet on the Chiefs to beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 58, and the win earned him a whopping $2.3 million.

Drake's logic for why he picked the Chiefs was simple.

"I can't bet against the Swifties," he said in an Instagram post.

Drake has been known to make some big bets, and winning a big one for the Super Bowl will likely only add to his confidence.

The winning bet didn't come without a little stress, though. The Chiefs were down 10-0 early and had to crawl back, sending the game to overtime on a Harrison Butker field goal with seconds left. In overtime, the 49ers struck first on a field goal, but Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs down the field and ultimately to the win, securing their third Super Bowl in five years.

Drake made a good decision by not betting against the Chiefs, and now he can enjoy a big payday as Kansas City enjoys another Super Bowl.

You ever just casually drop a $1.1 million bet on a football game?

No? Well, Drake just did, placing that wager on Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Sunday's Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers, posting his betting slip on Instagram.

This may not bode well for the defending champions, as Drake's recent betting history is... rough.

Perhaps you are familiar with the "Drake Curse." Most recently, he bet $700,000 on former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland, who was promptly defeated by Dricus du Plessis. He had previously wagered $500,000 on Israel Adesanya defeating Strickland at UFC 293, which again didn't hit.

In February, Tommy Fury cost him $1.2 million after winning a split decision over Jake Paul.

For those of you keeping track at home, that means he lost $2.4 million on those three fights.

Outside of the people directly involved, nobody may have more riding on the outcome of UFC 297's main event than Drake.

The rapper wagered $700,000 on Sean Strickland to successfully defend his middleweight title against Dricus du Plessis. A Strickland victory would net him a nearly $1.4 million payout.

Drake bet $700K on Sean Strickland to beat Dricus Du Plessis tonight 😳

(via @Drake) pic.twitter.com/feg4Un8OID

— br_betting (@br_betting) January 20, 2024

Strickland upset Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 to reign supreme over the middleweight division. He's carrying a three-fight winning streak into Saturday night's bout.

A win for the 32-year-old is no sure thing, though.

Du Plessis has a 20-2 overall record and is unbeaten in six fights since debuting in UFC in 2020. Each of his last two wins came via a second-round TKO.

A title change could easily take place at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

As the adage goes, you have to spend money to make money. For Drake, there are certainly less risky ways to invest $700k.

Sports betting isn't going away any time soon, and ESPN is jumping into the gambling industry head-on.

The self-proclaimed "worldwide leader in sports" has reached an agreement with Penn Entertainment to launch ESPN BET sportsbook this fall, the company announced Tuesday. It will launch in the 16 states where Penn Entertainment has sports betting licenses.

"Our primary focus is always to serve sports fans and we know they want both betting content and the ability to place bets with less friction from within our products," said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro. "The strategy here is simple: to give fans what they've been requesting and expecting from ESPN. PENN Entertainment is the perfect partner to build an unmatched user experience for sports betting with ESPN BET."

ESPN BET will join an ever-growing gambling market that includes the likes of major sports betting companies like DraftKings, Caesars, FanDuel and BetMGM, among others. Like those companies, ESPN will offer a mobile app, website and mobile website.

Following one of the most surprising and dramatic turnarounds in NBA history, the Sacramento Kings returned to the postseason for the first time since the 2006 season as a No. 3 seed.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers overcame a 2-10 start to the season and managed to sneak their way to a No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. They also have a relatively healthy LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

And with the playoffs about to start, those two teams are the scariest things in the world to sportsbooks around the country.

According to a report by ESPN's David Purdum, the Lakers and Kings pose the largest liabilities of any teams in this season's playoff field due to several large bets.

Sacramento is the biggest threat to Caesars after an unnamed better at the Tropicana Casino in Las Vegas placed a $10,000 bet on the Kings to win the NBA Finals at 750-1 and another one of $8,000 at 350-1.

If De'Aaron Fox and Co. manage to win the whole thing, the payout for that lucky person would be a net of $10.3 million.

They already overcame 250-1 odds to win their division, so maybe the Kings have a few more surprises in them.

The Kings' road to a championship obviously won't be an easy one, especially since they have a date with the defending champion, Golden State Warriors, in the first round of the playoffs.

It is set to be one of the most anticipated matchups of the round.

Meanwhile, due to the roller-coaster nature of their season, the Lakers also pose a big threat to several sportsbooks.

After starting out the year at 12-1 to win the title, Los Angeles nose dived all the way to 125-1 in November. But a strong second half of the season, spearheaded by a resurgent Davis, has some people nervous.

"The Lakers are our biggest outright liability for the Western Conference and for the championship," Kevin Lawler, head of trading at PointsBet, told ESPN.

The Lakers are now only behind the Kings as the biggest liability for sportsbooks. Their first-round series is against the No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies.

The Kings are currently +4000 to win the title while the Lakers are +1400.

The Milwaukee Bucks (+275), Boston Celtics (+325) and Phoenix Suns (+425) are the three favorites to win it all.

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Opening Day is right around the corner, which means it's time for bettors to begin thinking about which teams they believe have the best chance to capture the World Series title in 2023 before the odds begin to shift.

The Houston Astros enter the 2023 Major League Baseball campaign as the defending champions, and they open this season as the favorite to repeat with +600 odds (bet $100 to win $600), per DraftKings Sportsbook.

However, there are several other clubs that could give Houston a run for its money, including the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers, so let's take a look at the full list of World Series odds prior to Thursday's games.

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2023 World Series Odds (Percentage of Handle)

• Houston Astros: +600 (5 percent)
• Atlanta Braves: +750 (3 percent)
• New York Yankees: +750 (13 percent)
• Los Angeles Dodgers: +850 (4 percent)
• San Diego Padres: +950 (7 percent)
• New York Mets: +950 (18 percent)
• Toronto Blue Jays: +1300
• St. Louis Cardinals: +1600
• Philadelphia Phillies: +1800 (12 percent)
• Tampa Bay Rays: +1900
• Seattle Mariners: +1900 (3 percent)
• Cleveland Guardians: +2200 (5 percent)
• Milwaukee Brewers: +3500
• Minnesota Twins: +3500
• Chicago White Sox: +4000
• Los Angeles Angels: +4500
• Texas Rangers: +4500
• San Francisco Giants: +6000
• Boston Red Sox: +6000 (7 percent)
• Miami Marlins: +7500
• Baltimore Orioles: +8000
• Chicago Cubs: +9000
• Arizona Diamondbacks: +17000
• Cincinnati Reds: +20000
• Kansas City Royals: +20000
• Pittsburgh Pirates: +25000
• Detroit Tigers: +25000
• Washington Nationals: +50000
• Oakland Athletics: +50000
• Colorado Rockies: +50000

Full list of World Series odds available at sportsbook.draftkings.com

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It's interesting that only 5 percent of the handle is on the Astros, especially considering 7 percent is on the Red Sox, who aren't considered true World Series contenders this season.

While Boston added Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida and closer Kenley Jansen this winter and is expecting Chris Sale to return to the mound, the Red Sox have to compete in a tough AL East this season, and their roster doesn't appear to stack up to the other teams in the division.

It's no surprise that 18 percent of the handle is on the Mets following the team's spending spree this offseason. The team added Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, José Quintana, Adam Ottavino, David Robertson and Omar Narváez and now has the highest payroll in baseball.

However, it's worth mentioning that the Mets lost superstar closer Edwin Díaz to a torn patellar tendon at the World Baseball Classic and he will miss the entire season. Losing a player of that caliber isn't ideal, and the team will have to work hard to make up for the loss.

Regardless, the Mets enter the 2023 campaign with high expectations, and anything less than a World Series title will feel like a failure.

It's also not surprising 12 percent of the handle is on the Phillies after the franchise made the World Series last season. With much of its 2022 roster returning, the Phillies have what it takes to make another deep run in 2023, though with Trea Turner having been signed this offseason, it's possible they finally get over the hump this year.

The Kansas City Chiefs are once again expected to dominate the NFL in 2023 after winning the Super Bowl.

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Chiefs are tied for the highest win total over-under for next season at 11.5, alongside the Cincinnati Bengals and San Francisco 49ers. The Philadelphia Eagles are expected to take a slight step back with a win total of 10.5 after going 14-3 last season.

The totals for each team were released for the first time Saturday:

NFL Regular Season Wins are live! pic.twitter.com/k3fIX62go3

— DraftKings Sportsbook (@DKSportsbook) March 25, 2023

Though there could be major changes as the offseason continues, here are the projections for each team as of March 25.

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2023 NFL Season Over-Under Win Totals

Kansas City Chiefs: 11.5

Cincinnati Bengals: 11.5

San Francisco 49ers: 11.5

Philadelphia Eagles: 10.5

Jacksonville Jaguars: 10.5

Buffalo Bills: 10.5

New York Jets: 9.5

New Orleans Saints: 9.5

Detroit Lions: 9.5

Miami Dolphins: 9.5

Los Angeles Chargers: 9.5

Cleveland Browns: 9.5

Dallas Cowboys: 9.5

New York Giants: 8.5

Pittsburgh Steelers: 8.5

Baltimore Ravens: 8.5

Denver Broncos: 8.5

Seattle Seahawks: 8.5

Minnesota Vikings: 8.5

Los Angeles Rams: 7.5

New England Patriots: 7.5

Las Vegas Raiders: 7.5

Green Bay Packers: 7.5

Atlanta Falcons: 7.5

Carolina Panthers: 7.5

Chicago Bears: 7.5

Washington Commanders: 7.5

Tennessee Titans: 7.5

Indianapolis Colts: 6.5

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 6.5

Houston Texans: 5.5

Arizona Cardinals: 5.5

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Some notable quarterback shifts seemingly created significant changes in the betting odds.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the AFC South with an 8-9 record last year, but they have one of the lowest projected totals at 6.5 after the retirement of Tom Brady. There aren't high expectations for the combination of Kyle Trask and Baker Mayfield heading into next season.

The New York Jets, meanwhile, are expected to add Aaron Rodgers if they can work out a trade with the Green Bay Packers. It's enough to put their total at 9.5 wins, while Packers have just a 7.5-win total with Jordan Love expected to take over under center.

In the NFC South, the New Orleans Saints have the highest win total (9.5) after signing veteran quarterback Derek Carr.

Though the San Francisco 49ers have uncertainty at quarterback, they proved it doesn't matter as much after going 13-4 with three different starters last year. Whether Brock Purdy, Trey Lance or even Sam Darnold is QB1, the 49ers still have high expectations.

Other teams are expected to take significant leaps in 2023, most notably the Jacksonville Jaguars with a over/under of 10.5.

Though it would take just two more wins than last season to hit the over, the 11 wins would be the franchise's best mark since 2007. A lot of things would have to go right for Trevor Lawrence and Co. to reach the expectations.

The Detroit Lions would also be looking to defy recent history, with the 9.5 projected wins being more than any season since 2014.

From the other perspective, there are low expectations for the Baltimore Ravens amid uncertainty surrounding Lamar Jackson. The Ravens placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on the quarterback, but it remains to be seen if he will be with the team in 2023.

If Jackson does return, reaching the 8.5 projected win total would be much easier.

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