A year after his unprecedented “IPL debut,” Canadian rapper has placed another massive $750,000 bet on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to win the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League against Punjab Kings (PBKS). The multi-Grammy-winning artist made shocking headlines in 2024 as he placed his “first cricket bet” on Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders for the final match-up against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

Like yesteryear’s unexpected reveal on his Instagram, Drake again flashed his return to the IPL betting season on his social media platform. As “Ee sala cup namde” war cries run loud among fans counting on RCB’s 2025 IPL victory, Drizzy echoed the same strong sentiments via his IG post this week. Flaunting the latest entry to his usual sports gambling streak, the rapper posted a screenshot of his $750,000 bet on Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He stands to win $1,312,500 if the Indian team takes the cup home.

ALSO READ

He captioned the post with the popular RCB slogan, “Ee sala cup namde,” a Kannada phrase which translates to “this year the cup is ours,” while also tagging Stake. The 38-year-old star reportedly signed a $100 million per year endorsement deal with the online crypto casino and sports betting platform, according to Pitchfork. He first partnered with them in 2022, with Financial Times reporting that he was earning $100,000 annually at the time. He has since shared multiple posts highlighting Stake on his social media.

Fears of long-documented betting curse renewed as Drake bets on Royal Challengers Bengaluru

His new cricket bet instantly hits the refresh button on last year’s memory when he shared the KKR catchline “Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo” in his caption as he boasted about betting on the team. The “Hotline Bling” rapper is well known for placing bets across sports, including basketball, American football, or football.

Although Kolkata Knight Riders avoided the “Drake Curse” by securing the 2024 IPL title against Sunrise Hyderabad, fans are now worried about how RCB’s fate will unfold at today’s IPL 2025 Final.

The Drake betting curse has long been documented over the years, as the Toronto-born rapper has repeatedly lost one too many bets. It has led people to believe that the international star placing his faith in any sport team is bound to round up bad luck for the said lineup. The same year as his KKR bet, ‘Champagne Papi’ also put support behind the Edmonton Oiler to win the Stanley Cup and the Dallas Mavericks to clinch the NBA Finals. Both teams were hit with disappointing losses at their respective game arenas.

Netizens react to the possibility of the Drake Curse taking down RCB

The news of Drake’s new IPL venture has again got netizens wondering if the so-called betting curse could end up working in Punjab Kings’ favour today in Ahmedabad, with the historic clash set to kick off at 7:30 PM IST.

ALSO READ

“Drake bet 6 crores on rcb lol, pbks has chances of winning it,” someone wrote on X. Yet another user said, “The Drake Curse is Real. RCB ain’t winning this.” Meanwhile, a third user was shocked to see the rapper come out in support of the Bengaluru team: “WTF????? Drake bhai bhi RCB supporter nikle>>>>>” More noise emerged online with comments like, “Drake has placed his bet on RCB. Oh, yeah RCB is cooked now,” and “Thank you for supporting RCB, Drake bhai! Now, all the PBKS fans like me can sleep peacefully.”

Breaking the chain, someone remained hopeful about RCB’s win today, and wrote, “RCB so strong they’re breaking the drake curse as well.” Another flipped the script and chimed in, “congrats rcb, because the last time drake bet on a team, they won the 2024 ipl season.” On another page, an X user couldn’t believe their eyes that the IPL had got Drake speaking Kannada.