Nseobong Okon-Ekong writes that along with France, various corporate bodies and individuals suffered huge losses for placing a bet on the losing side at the just concluded World Cup in Qatar
Due to his global fame as a successful entertainer, Canadian rapper Aubrey Drake Graham hugged the headlines as he lost $1 million. However, he was correct in forecasting that Argentina would defeat France. Drake suffered a setback because he predicted the South American country would triumph over the European inside regulation time;
as the match was forced to a draw by Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe, who robbed the Argentines of a clear victory, Drake lost the $1 million on technicalities.
At the end of the full-time inside the Lusail Stadium in Doha, the capital of Qatar, the score line stood at 2-2, denying Drake the benefit of his prediction as Argentina eventually won on penalties.
The 2022 World Cup final shocked many corporate entities and individuals. For instance, Bet365 must have regretted inviting punters to take a chance on its several offers, boosts and promotions. The bookmaker ended up incurring over a $12 million loss. By featuring a 2 Goals Ahead Early Payout, anyone betting on the South American side to win in 90 minutes had their bet paid out. Payment to winners in this category dug a deep hole in the accounts of the sports betting company.
Apart from this, Bet365 also offered Super Boosted odds for both Mbappe and Lionel Messi to have a shot on target from 4/6 to 6/4. Many players took up this offer which cost the betting company a huge setback. There was Bet365 Extra Time Extra Chance which customers would have lost if the match had ended inside regulation time.
At 15/2 on Messi to score two or more goals and Mbappe to score a hat-trick at 66/1, Bet365 offered another chance to players that cost the company more losses.
Thanks to a wide range of options from Bet365, its customers won many prizes. About 15,000 punters shared a payout of $488,000.
Steve Freeth, Bet365’s spokesman for soccer, told Gambling News, “The 2022 World Cup Final was all about the spectacular clash between Messi and Mbappe. Freeth noted that many experts believe this final to be the best of all time. He is sure that many bettors now believe so too in the wake of their winning bets.”
Freeth noted other options offered by his company to bettors, noting that “Messi was backed for the Golden Ball with odds going from 12/1 to 8/1. The soccer pro was also backed for the Golden Boot, with 16/1 turning to 10/1. Freeth noted that bet365 barely dodged one of these bets. At the same time, the operator reported that many people took up its 33/1 bet about Enzo Fernandes’ claim for the Young Player of the Tournament trophy – a prize he ended up winning.”
The sports betting company could have suffered more losses that were avoided when Giroud and Dembele were substituted before half-time.
Here are some of the chances Bet365 placed a bet on:
* 2 Goals Ahead Early Payout
* Super Boosted odds for both Mbappe and Lionel Messi to have a shot on target from 4/6 to 6/4
* Bet365 Extra Time Extra Chance
*Messi was backed for the Golden Ball with odds going from 12/1 to 8/1
*Messi was also backed for the Golden Boot with 16/1 turning to 10/1
*Bet365 forecast 33/1 bet about Enzo Fernandes’ claim for the Young Player of the tournament trophy – a prize he ended up winning
• Messi to score 2 or more
• Mbappe to score a hat-trick
• Messi extra SOT
• Mbappe extra SOT
• Mac Allistar extra SOT
• Paredes to be Booked
• Montiel to be booked.
Another loss celebrated in the gaming world is that of Twitch streamer Felix “xQc” Lengyel, whose gamble on the controversial crypto-gambling website Stake cost him $500,000 after Argentina won the FIFA World Cup finals.
Before the South Americans squared up against France, xQc posted a screenshot of the gambling stub to prove that he had staked a princely $500,000 on France winning the World Cup.
After publicly cashing out the $5K, he explained to his audience that it would not have made a difference even if France went on to win the match because the bet was technically about winning within the designated 90 minutes of play with extra time, without counting the penalty shootouts.
After the news that he had cashed out went viral, the streamer defended his decision, saying: “Yes, I shouldn’t have cashed out. But at the same time, you guys need to understand that it didn’t matter in the end because now, at this point I already lost. Me and Train’s bet was for a win at 90 minutes plus extra time. We are past that, now we are going to overtime. So, that doesn’t matter anymore. I would have lost regardless.”
As per a more recent Tweet from xQc, it appears that the total loss from his side due to betting on the World Cup was about $650,000.
