The Grammy-winning rapper Drake has recently revealed that he bet a total of $1.26 million on the Super Bowl clash between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams. The Canadian placed his bets using Bitcoin.
According to his own statement, Drake backed the Rams with $471,000 worth of BTC. The remaining money went on the bets focused on the Rams’ wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Drake bet $392,000 on OBJ making over 62.5 receiving yards in the NFL Championship game. He put the same amount on the WR scoring at least one touchdown.
Drake Used Crypto-Betting Platform Stake.com for His Super Bowl Bets
To make his Super Bowl bets in Bitcoin, Drake used a crypto-only gaming platform called Stake. The platform isn’t licensed in the United States nor in Drake’s home country of Canada. Instead, Stake has a license issued by the Government of Curaçao.
Despite not having a license in North America, the company has been very busy over in the US. Last year, Stake became the official betting partner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), an American MMA promotion.
Americans cannot bet on this platform, not even those located in the states where online betting is legal and regulated. Speaking of which, none of 30 sports betting-friendly states in the US allow the use of bitcoin for online wagering.
This, however, doesn’t mean licensed American sportsbook brands haven’t ventured into the crypto world. FanDuel, for example, one of the most successful sportsbook operators has NFL daily fantasy contests in which the prizes come in the form of Dash Digital Cash.
NFL’s Love Affair With Cryptos
Odell Beckham Jr. – the man who Drake believes will dominate the Super Bowl LVI – is one of the NFL stars who have decided to get their salary in the form of cryptos.
A couple of months ago, OBJ signed a sponsorship deal with the Block, Inc.-owned mobile payment service Cash App, for which he’s going to get paid in Bitcoin. The receiver promised to give $1 million of that money to his fans.
Speaking of fan giveaways, Crypto exchange FTX.US is planning to give away Bitcoin during the Super Bowl LVI. To take part in the contest, fans are required to retweet the tweet of the FTX.US Super Bowl commercial between the time it airs and midnight PM EDT on the day of the game.
On top of that, the NFL will also be giving the fans some crypto presents during the Super Bowl. According to the league officials, everyone who attends the game at SoFi Stadium will receive a customized keepsake in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT).
