Drake's love of a flutter has backfired spectacularly once again after the Canadian rapper watched £150,000 vanish on Friday night.
The 39-year-old music star had placed his faith in Jake Paul to pull off an upset against Anthony Joshua in their heavyweight showdown in Miami.
It turns out that confidence was misplaced. Joshua stopped the YouTuber-turned-boxer in the sixth round, leaving Drake empty-handed.
Had Paul managed to secure the win, Drake would have walked away with a massive £1.2million.
Anthony Joshua knocked Jake Paul out in the sixth round
|REUTERS
The rapper, whose real name is Aubrey Drake Graham, couldn't resist showing off his wager on Instagram before the fight, posting the bet slip with the caption: "Jakeyyyyy boy. Lock tf in."
Boxing hasn't been kind to Drake's wallet lately. His recent record in the ring is nothing short of disastrous.
Back in November 2024, he staked £355,000 on Mike Tyson to defeat Paul, only for the younger fighter to claim victory.
The losses pile up from there. In May 2024, Drake backed Tyson Fury against Oleksandr Usyk with a £565,000 bet that went south.
Just two months earlier, he had wagered £615,000 on Francis Ngannou to overcome Joshua in March 2024. That didn't work out either.
Jake Paul was backed by Drake to beat Anthony Joshua, in what would have been a stunning upset
|REUTERS
Joshua entered Friday's contest as the clear favourite, boasting a 28-4 record with 25 knockouts as a former two-time unified heavyweight champion.
Paul, meanwhile, had won his previous six fights and carried a 12-1 record into the bout.
Drake's terrible luck has spawned its own superstition known as 'The Drake Curse'.
Drake took to social media to show his outrageous bet on Jake Paul
|The jinx supposedly strikes whenever the 'One Dance' hitmaker poses for photos with athletes or wears team merchandise before big matches.
Paul Pogba was among the first victims in March 2019, with Manchester United crashing out of the FA Cup to Wolves days after meeting the rapper.
Wilfried Zaha suffered a similar fate the following month when Crystal Palace lost 3-1 to Manchester City shortly after their photo together.
Conor McGregor fell to Khabib Nurmagomedov after his own Drake encounter, while Sergio Aguero missed a Champions League penalty following a meeting with the star.
Netflix and chill. pic.twitter.com/khb1yxFjiW
— Anthony Joshua (@anthonyjoshua) December 20, 2025
Joshua himself once joked about banning Drake from his dressing room. Speaking to ESPN, he said: "I know I shouldn't. You know about the Drake curse? It's real, though."
Drake has been surprisingly open about the true extent of his gambling habit.
Earlier this year, the rapper shared a screenshot on Instagram revealing he had lost a staggering £5m in just a single month.
"Gotta share the other side of gambling... 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," he wrote.
The Drake curse was alive and well on Friday night, claiming another victim | PAHis betting adventures extend well beyond boxing. Drake placed £596,400 across two separate NBA wagers earlier this year.
In April, he lost £750,000 backing the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Florida Panthers in the NHL playoffs. The Leafs were thrashed 6-1, with Drake playfully pointing the finger at Justin Bieber's presence at the game for bringing yet another curse.