DRAKE CELEBRATES CANADA'S WORLD CUP VICTORY WITH WINNING $770K BET

Canada’s World Cup run got an extra celebrity celebration on Sunday, and it came with a hefty payday. Drake is celebrating a World Cup win on and off the pitch…

Canada's World Cup run got an extra celebrity celebration on Sunday, and it came with a hefty payday.

Drake is celebrating a World Cup win on and off the pitch after Canada defeated South Africa 1-0, cashing a seven-figure sports bet he shared with fans before kickoff.

The Toronto rapper revealed on Instagram that he risked $770,000 through Stake on Canada to advance. The wager carried a potential payout of $1,001,000. After Canada's victory, the bet officially hit, giving Drake a profit of roughly $231,000.

Before the match, Drake couldn't resist having a little fun with one of South Africa's biggest stars.

"@realblackcoffee was chirping in the DM I had to raise the STAKES," he wrote alongside a screenshot of the wager.

Canada's World Cup dream continues

Canada's victory keeps the nation's dream World Cup run alive. As one of the hosts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside the United States and Mexico, Canada advanced to the Round of 16 after edging South Africa.

For Drake, the win is just the latest chapter in his very public sports betting hobby.

Drake's long history with Stake

Through his partnership with Stake, Drake has made headlines for betting on everything from NBA Finals and UFC title fights to boxing matches and major soccer tournaments. He has regularly shared both his wins and losses with fans.

The latest payout also comes months after Bloomberg Businessweek published an investigation into Stake and Drake's gambling activity on the platform. The report found that Drake won big on slot machine games created by Easygo, Stake's parent company, at a rate far higher than the average player.

Stake disputed the findings, calling them "categorically incorrect," while cofounder Ed Craven has previously denied claims that influencers receive better odds.

The Bloomberg report also came as Stake faced legal scrutiny, including lawsuits accusing the company of operating as an illegal online casino. One lawsuit filed in Virginia described Drake and streamer Adin Ross as paid promoters of the platform.

Drake reportedly signed a $100 million endorsement deal with Stake in 2022 and has frequently livestreamed gambling sessions while sharing his biggest wins and losses online. Sunday just happened to add another win to the highlight reel.

- Kayla Morgan

CHELSEA 2026/27 JERSEY LAUNCH UPDATE! | DRAKE, CENTRAL CEE AND DJ KHALID DROPPING VIDEO SOON

 

💙 CHELSEA 2026/27 JERSEY LAUNCH UPDATE!  

"According to reports, global superstars Drake, Central Cee, and DJ Khaled are teaming up with Chelsea for the official 2026/27 jersey launch video — dropping by the end of this season!."

#CFC #goviral #highlights #Chelsea #CentralCee #DJKhalid, #Drake

DRAKE PLACES A US$300,000 BET ON JANIK SINNER TO WIN THE U.S. OPEN

Drake sits courtside at a Toronto Raptors game (left); Jannik Sinner during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships (left). (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

NEW YORK — Drake is betting big on Jannik Sinner, wagering US$300,000 on the top-ranked men’s tennis player in the world to win the U.S. Open.

The rapper known for placing big bets on sporting events — and often losing them — posted on social media the screenshot of a betting slip from Tuesday afternoon. The six-figure gamble pays $507,000 if Sinner captures his fifth major championship and second at the U.S. Open.

The so-called Drake Curse has been blamed for several losses over the past few years, including $210,000 on American Taylor Fritz to beat Sinner in the 2024. U.S. Open final. According to a website tracking Drake’s announced bets and the curse, he is down $115,000 on tennis after cutting his losses by successfully picking Sinner to win the Australian Open final in January.

Sinner is in the quarterfinals after routing Alexander Bublik in their fourth-round match. The 24-year-old next faces fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti and is the betting favorite on BetMGM Sportsbook.

- The Associated Press

BARCELONA TO WEAR TRAVIS SCOTT LOGO ON SHIRTS FOR NEXT LA LIGA

Not Taylor Swift after all

Photo by Georgiana Dallas/WWE via Getty Images

Barcelona are reportedly set to wear the logo of rapper Travis Scott on their shirts for the next La Liga Clasico with Real Madrid in May.

As part of their sponsorship deal with Spotify, Barca have worn cutomised shirts in recent Clasico clashes with their bitter rivals in the Spanish top flight.

Taylor Swift had been touted as being Barca’s ‘first choice’ for the next fixture in May, but the Catalans will go for Travis Scott instead, according to Ara.

Scott is therefore set to follow in the foosteps of Drake, Rosalía, The Rolling Stones, Karol G and Coldplay in featuring on Barca shirts for the iconic fixture.

The America rapper is one of the most popular artists on Spotify. He has more than 68 million monthly listeners, only Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Bruno Mars, Bad Bunny, Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish have more.

The game is due to take place on May 11 at Montjuic, with kick-off scheduled for 4.15pm local time.

- Barca Blaugranes Staff

SERENA WILLIAMS PERFORMS WITH KENDRICK LAMAR AT SUPER BOWL LIX HALFTIME SHOW

Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka shouted out the 23-time Grand Slam champion, who joined Kendrick on stage for his Grammy-winning “Not Like Us.”

Better not speak on Serena!

Serena Williams made an incredible cameo at the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show, joining headline performer Kendrick Lamar to dance to “Not Like Us” at the Caesars Superdome Sunday night.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion, who revealed plans to be at the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs earlier in the day, had gotten a lyrical shoutout in the Grammy Award-winning hit, as the subject was about Williams’ reported ex-boyfriend Drake.

Joining the dancers on stage, Serena busted out her signature moves reminiscent of her 2012 Olympic moment at the London Summer Games, the former world No. 1 referencing it in a video posted to social media later:

“Man, I did not Crip Walk like that at Wimbledon,” she said before adding with a scream. “Ooh, I would have been FIIIIIINED!”

Williams’ performance got rave reviews from her fellow players, Naomi Osaka, Coco Gauff—both of whom were proudly Team Kendrick when asked about the Drake feud at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia last spring—and Christopher Eubanks all shouting out the future Hall of Famer on X:

Though the Kansas City Chiefs, also known by Serena’s daughter Olympia as “Taylor Swift’s team,” did not ultimately win a third straight Super Bowl title, Williams certainly threw down the gauntlet for future Halftime Show cameos.

- David Kane

DRAKE REJECTED JAY-Z'S SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW OFFERS, ELLIOTT WILSON CONFIRMS

EXCLUSIVE - Drake has indeed turned down the Super Bowl halftime show on multiple occasions, according to Elliott Wilson.

In the latest episode of HipHopDX’s The Bigger Picture, Wilson — who serves as Editorial Director of Hip Hop Journalism at UPROXX Studios, DX’s parent company — confirmed the news, which was first made public by New Rory & Mal co-host Mal earlier this week.

The veteran Hip Hop journalist got more specific than Mal, revealing another interesting layer to the story. He said that Drake was asked to perform at the Super Bowl twice: first, in 2020 in Miami, and again the following year in Tampa.

Behind these offers was, of course, JAY-Z, who began working with the NFL in 2019 to help organize the league’s halftime show.

After Drake turned them down, the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show was instead headlined by Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, while Drizzy’s friend-turned-foe The Weekend landed the gig in 2021, adding another twist to the tale.

“I have some intel. I thought Mal was capping, I thought he was lying about Drake turning down the Super Bowl. That sounded wild. It was like, ‘Four times? Who turns down the Super Bowl that many times?'” Wilson said.

“I have it on authority, multiple sources have told me that Drake has indeed turned down the Super Bowl. He actually turned down the first two [since JAY-Z’s NFL partnership] — the one in Miami and The Weeknd one.”

He added: “These guys are rivals with each other, they’ve had their good times and bad times with each other. But businesswise, JAY-Z wanted Drake on that Super Bowl stage and he turned it down twice.”

Wilson then defended Hov against claims that selecting Drake’s bitter rival Kendrick Lamar to perform at next year’s Super Bowl was a slight against the 6 God, as suggested by the likes of Nicki Minaj and Cam’ron.

“So now, years later, when the opportunity’s asked of Kendrick and Kendrick says, ‘Yes,’ is Jay not playing fair there?” he asked. “Should Drake feel a way about it when he knows himself he’s had the opportunity to do it but he’s turned it down twice?”

The revelation arrives amid commotion surrounding Kendrick’s Super Bowl LIX halftime show, which takes place in New Orleans on February 9.

Many — including Birdman, Juvenile and Master P — have taken issue with the decision, arguing that Lil Wayne should’ve been given the nod considering he is a New Orleans legend and had openly coveted the gig.

Much of this anger has been directed at JAY-Z, with Nicki Minaj accusing the Roc Nation mogul of denying her Young Money mentor the opportunity out of “hatred” for herself, Birdman and Drake.

While neither Jay nor Kendrick have yet addressed the backlash, Wayne himself appeared heartbroken in an Instagram video shared on Friday (September 13) in which he admitted that the snub “hurt a lot.”

“I thought there was nothing better than that spot and that stage and that platform in my city, so it hurt. It hurt a whole lot,” he said, adding: “It broke me and I’m just trying to put me back together.”

The full episode of The Bigger Picture airs on Saturday (September 14) on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or whever you get your podcasts.

Additional reporting by Elise Ricks and Jeremy Hecht.

- ANDY BUSTARD

NICKI MINAJ, BIRDMAN, AND MORE.SLAM.JAY-X OVER SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW

Not everyone is pleased with the fact Kendrick Lamar was picked for next year's performance

MONICA SCHIPPER/WIREIMAGE; JAMIE MCCARTHY/GETTY IMAGES FOR LIVE NATION

THE PEOPLE CLOSE to Lil Wayne are making it clear they’re not happy with him not being named the Super Bowl LIX halftime show headliner. Nicki Minaj and Birdman both took to X today to air their gripes with the NFL’s (and presumably Jay-Z’s) decision to have Kendrick Lamar headline the February showcase. While they didn’t explicitly name Jay-Z, who has had a hand in producing Super Bowl halftime shows since 2019, it seems pretty apparent what they’re talking about. 

Nicki Minaj took to her account to bemoan “Denying a young black man what he rightfully put into this game for no other reason but your ego. Your hatred for BIRDMAN, Drake & Nicki got you punishing Lil Wayne?!?!!! LIL WAYNE!!!!!!!!!! THE GOAT?!!!!!!!!!!! Nola what’s good?!!!!!! Eminem stood firm on having 50Cent come out.” She also posted “One nigga took a knee The other nigga took the bag. He gon get you ‘niggers’ in line every fkng time.” 

Her latter post referred to popular sentiment that Jay-Z’s 2019 partnership with the NFL was in response to former San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick being veritably exiled from the NFL after kneeling during pregame National Anthem performances. 

Nicki’s stream of posts included her noting, “I love watching the whole industry play dumb time after time. lol. The truth is the truth no matter who tells it. Picking & choosing who yall accept truth from then BAM! Pow! 💥 might tell you a joke but won’t tell you a lie. Bwahahahaaha.” She also posted “Yall know his next move is going to be to tell yall a “certain someone” is being treated soooooo unfairly so that yall can go back into that trance,” likely referring to Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter album not being nominated for any 2024 Country Music Awards. Jay-Z spoke up on Beyonce’s behalf during a memorable speech at the 2024 Grammys. 

https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/1833253347429912734

In another post, Nicki noted, “Got everything in the world. Still spiteful & evil. Disgusting. Be happy Abeg. Go be fkng happy n!gg@!!!!!!!! In rap business. In women business. When you got the Politicians & the police you good tho.” And when another X account told her to “sit out” of advocating for Wayne, she posted, “Oh you think speaking up on injustice within your work place should only be done if it’s for a person who would do it for you? Im rlly the realest n!gg@. Wow.”

Her posts come alongside Birdman’s own Monday afternoon statements. A day after the NFL’s official announcement, Birdman posted, “Smfh,” and then “These niggaz Pussi @NICKIMINAJ @Drake @LilTunechi YMCMB. I’m make these niggaz respek us on Gladys 🐐.” He followed up by posting about “Hatin shit 4real.” These are his first X posts in five months; it doesn’t seem like a coincidence that they came the day after his longtime protege was passed over.

Nicki and Birdman join Master P and Cam’ron and Mase as artists who believe Wayne should have been the headliner for the February New Orleans event. Earlier today, Master P wrote an open letter on his Instagram opining, “#LilWayne should be a part of this celebration as well. He’s one of the greatest Hip Hop artists alive, still relevant, and he’s a New Orleans native. Let’s not miss this cultural moment in the South.” 

And this morning, rapper Cam’ron spoke on the selection on his web series It Is What It Is, noting “There’s no reason why Lil Wayne shouldn’t be performing in the Super Bowl,” adding, “It’s not really a secret. Lil Wayne had a problem with somebody before who’s kind of part of the organization running it. This is payback.” He concluded, “Who’s Lil Wayne’s artist? Drake … Lil Wayne not to be performing in New Orleans for the Super Bowl is egregious and it’s gotta stop.”

Lil Wayne and Jay-Z had a bit of a frenemies relationship in the late ‘00s, as Wayne’s ascendance as a rap superstar dovetailed with Jay-Z shifting into a music industry executive. 

In December of 2006, after Jay-Z’s Kingdom Come album, Wayne told Complex, “I’m better than [Jay-Z]. I’m 24 years old… I’m 13 years deep with five albums and 10 million records sold. I don’t like what he’s saying about how he had to come back because hip-hop’s dead and we need him. What the f— do you mean? If anything it’s reborn, so he’s probably having a problem with that. You left on a good note, and all of the artists were saying, ‘Yo, this is Jay’s house. He’s the best.’ Now he comes back and still thinks it’s his house… It’s not your house anymore, and I’m better than you.”

The two traded numerous shots on record over the years. But whatever competitive rift they had seemed to be a thing of the past by 2018, when Wayne told a Chicago crowd that, “[Jay-Z] helped me when I was really, really, really down…That man helped me with my taxes. He’s a real friend, y’all.”

- ANDRE GEE

DRAKE MET MISS WORLD CUP 2022 | MISS CROATIA 🇭🇷

DRAKE & DAVIES | CANADA 🇨🇦 NATIONAL TEAM

 

DRAKE BETS HUGE ON JUSTIN GAETHJE

DRAKE STUNS WESTBROOK FORCES OT!

BEST MOMENTS FROM DRAKE, DENZEL WASHINGTON, KEVIN HART, THE ROCK AND MORE ON INSIDE THE NBA

SERENA WILLIAMS PROVIDED DRAKE INSPIRATION FOR 'BACK TO BACK' SUPERHIT

Drake hails super tennis star Serena Williams for inspiring him to make the 'Back to Back' 2015 superhit...

DRAKE RESPONDS TO ANDREESCU WITH A 'LATE' MESSAGE TO HER

NBA: USIKU WA DRAKE WAENDA VIZURI BAADA YA RAPTORS KUSHINDA

Usiku wa mwanamuziki maarufu sana wa miondoko ya Hip-Hop anayetokea Canada, Drake, umeenda vizuri baada ya timu ya Toronto Raptors kushinda game yao dhidi ya Cavaliers 102-99...Usiku wa Drake au 'Drake Night' alihudhuria mama yake mzazi Drake ambae alikaa pembeni yake pembeni tu ya court... 

Pia kilipigwa kibao chake kipya cha 'Hotline Bling' huku akitingisha kichwa na kuweka vidole karibu na maskio...Huwa mara moja kwa mwaka Raptors hufanya usiku wa balozi wa brand na mwaka huu ni Drake tena...Bofya hapa upate habari zaidi.