The Biggest Sports Bets Ever Made

In the sports betting domain, Lady Luck has a huge part to play in achieving success as some of these huge sports bet will reveal. However, the fact of the matter is, most punters are triumphant after spending much time invested in careful analysis and risk assessment. Our latest infographic uncovers the biggest and riskiest sports bets ever made – I can tell you that some people risked their necks by investing large sums of money in these far from foolproof bets, whereas others scored big from putting out just a couple of cents.

Let me set the scene; let’s go back in time to 2006, when Liverpool played Luton in the third round of the FA cup. Liverpool was leading in the final minutes of the game, so Luton risked it all to level, including sending their goalkeeper deep into the opposition’s half. Every devout Liverpool fan remembers that iconic moment when the Spaniard, Xabi Alonso, quickly noticed that Luton’s goalkeeper was way out of his position. He took the ball in his stride and shot it to score from his own half of the pitch with the elegance and precision of a panther hunting its prey. The final score was 5-3 to Liverpool. Needless to say, the odds were not in Adrian Hayward’s favour when he placed a bet of £200 on Alonso scoring a goal from his own half. Adrian recalls having a dream that midfielder would score from his side of the pitch. How much do you think he won? I can tell you he won thousands, check out the infographic to find out the odds on this bet coming to fruition and the huge sum of money Adrian received.

Some rules state that sports stars are not allowed to bet on themselves, but there are none which say that their parents can’t. Gerry McIlroy’s 15-year-old son Rory was an aspiring young golfer. Gerry had pretty high hopes for his son, and some of his friends were so impressed by his confidence that they followed suit and placed bets too. Together, they bet quite a bit of money that he would win the British Open within ten years. The bookmakers found this an unusual wager to make, so they set the odds at 500:1. Exactly ten years later, Rory did his dad and his mates proud and won the British Open in 2014 at the age of 25. Do the math; there are a lot of zeroes in the outcome of this equation. Head to our infographic to find out exactly how many! With the 2017 FedExCup currently going on, golf enthusiasts can easily try their luck and bet on one of the tournament’s up and coming golfers. Have some faith like Rory’s dad!

Our next lucky punter has a rather similar backstory; Richard Hopkins’ bet also took some time to pay off. He won thousands of pounds from a wager he had made that Formula 1 racer, Lewis Hamilton, would win both a Grand Prix and a World Championship. He was able to get high odds seeing as he made the prediction when Hamilton was just a 13-year-old boy with big dreams and some serious go-karting skills. Hopkins spotted Hamilton’s undeniable talent when he was racing go-carts against his son and decided to place a large bet on the boy winning a Grand Prix by the age of 23. All his predictions came true ten years later when Hamilton won his first F1 World Championship by one single point in the year 2008. With such an eye for talent, perhaps, Richard should consider becoming a scout for Ferrari. This summer expects plenty of world class races all over the globe; you could also be in with the chance to make history. We have listed some tips which may send you on your way to cashing out big.

Something tells me you might know a thing or two about this next punter. Ex-professional Poker player, Bill Walters, decided to end his career in Poker for a different game, sports betting. He realised that his two hobbies are quite similar; they are both games of skill wherein one must carefully analyse the information at hand, then calculate the risks and potential profits. Over the last forty years, Walters has bet more money than anyone else in history and has continued a winning streak that has earned him a total of hundreds of millions of dollars. In an interview with CBS News, the American punter described his biggest and most reckless bet of all time. In the 2010 final of the Super Bowl, he bet a ridiculous amount of money on the New Orleans Saints beating the Indianapolis Colts. The overall consensus was that the New Orleans were the underdogs. After analysing all the information at hand, Walters soon realised that the Saints would most likely be the winners. He looked at the odds, calculated the risk, and potential profit then decided to bet huge. He wagered on the supposed underdogs who, on game match day, didn’t fall short. New Orleans defeated the Colts 31 – 17 to win their first ever Super Bowl. How much did Bill win exactly?

These are but a few stories from the average Joe, like you and me, who have won big. To see what bets Fred Craggs, Dean Yeats and a true Leicester lover made to win millions of pounds, take a moment to explore our infographic.

About the author

Eric Roberts

Sports Journalist

Eric has been a sports journalist for over 20 years and has travelled the world covering top sporting events for a number of publications. He also has a passion for betting and uses his in-depth knowledge of the sports world to pinpoint outstanding odds and value betting opportunities.