Sports betting has a long history. The very first bet dates more than 2,000 years ago and was dedicated to the ancient Olympics athletic competition. From Greeks, betting moved to Rome where people put wagers on gladiators. It was not that welcomed during medieval times since the church tried to forbid it in Europe. Still, it survived and integrated successfully into the further timeline.
Today, sports betting evolved into a highly profitable industry with many representatives and competitors. Modern sportsbooks hold millions of dollars (yes, there is no exaggeration). This business area is definitely not going to lose any public attention it has now. People are willing to try their luck, so why not help them?
Moreover, some of us turn out to be luckier than others. Most of the betting wins are not that huge, but there are cases worth looking at. In this article, we mention the five biggest sums that people managed to take home. This may work as inspiration for you to take a chance and place a wager.
5 incredibly lucky betting wins
So, who are those lucky bettors that become silver spoons in one dramatic moment?
5. Fred Craggs – £1 million ($1 258 288)
Fred Craggs, a 60-year-old man from Yorkshire, decided to place a small 50 pence bet on an eight-fold accumulator. Driven by his intuition, he chose eight horses in horse racing competitions around the world. What luck–none of them let him down. With eight wins, he managed to take home £1 million. Now this man is recalled as one of the most notable sports bettors.
4. Steve Whiteley – £1.45 million ($1 825 274)
This man from the UK also made his wealth on horse racing bets. In March 2011, a 61-year-old heating engineer Steve Whiteley placed a £2 wager on six winners on the Tote Jackpot. Such a small bet brought him a win of surprising £1.45 million making him a millionaire in seconds. Even though he didn’t know much about horse racing itself, his luck guided him towards winning horses.
3. Dave Oancea – $2.5 million
Dave Oancea (also known as Vegas Dave) is known as one of the world-famous bettors and an inseparable part of the sports betting ecosystem. His first media appearance happened in 2015 when he got the jackpot with a wager on the Kansas City Royals winning the World Series. His bet was not small–$140,000–but this bold bet paid off completely and brought him an unbelievable sum of money–$2.5 million.
2. Billy Walters – $3.5 million
One of the biggest sports betting wins belongs to Billy Walters. He is a 74-year-old businessman, philanthropist, and professional gambler (now retired). He was betting from his very childhood, but a truly huge success reached him in 2010. On the Super Bowl XLIV, Walters, despite being a fan of the Indianapolis Colts, placed a bet on the New Orleans Saints win. The odds were not in his favor since the team could hardly be called victorious, but everything turned out in the best possible way. Billy Walters became a winner of $3.5 million.
1. Anonymous – a $14 million win
Some people still think of this win as an urban legend. The biggest sum of money ever won in sports betting history belongs to an anonymous bettor. In 2017, the gambler Let It Ride placed wagers on six World Series games and won them all. A lot of rumors spread about the personality of Let It Ride. They say it was an Eastern European man in his 30s. But until today, no one knows exactly if this bettor was a single person, a team, or was non-existent at all.
Wrapping it up
The luck and destiny were definitely on those people’s side. The odds of repeating such success may not be that high, but they are still higher than zero. You can use some of the Australian betting sites to test your own luck and bet on your favorite athlete. Maybe, besides entertainment, they will bring you profit. There is only one question here – to bet or not to bet.
