4 Biggest Celebrities Who Were (or Are Still) into Sports Betting

Date Posted: February 21, 2019

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The thing about being a bigtime celebrity is that almost every move you make can potentially become a news headline the next day. If you are a big sports icon or a famous Hollywood actor and you donate a huge amount of money to a charitable institution, you become an online buzz in an instant.

Similarly, when you speak ill of a person who has as big a name as yours, you become trending within hours. And when you place huge bets on sports, whether you end up losing or emerge a winner, either way you will become a big story.

Don’t worry, these four celebrities who were, or are still into, sports betting or gambling know the feeling:

1| Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. The world’s highest-paid athlete is also probably one of the world’s biggest high roller. Once, he bet US$50,000 on Colorado State and won US$45,000! On a more recent occasion, he bagged US$830,000 after betting on an NBA match.

His being outspoken about him being a gambler can be seen in his tweets. He would post photos of his betting slips and the amounts of money he wagered. Perhaps this noisiness made him become the choice of gambling-related products/brands that he now endorses such as this:

U wanna live like Floyd #ad pic.twitter.com/c7UFDCIjlb
— Floyd Mayweather (@FloydMayweather) February 2, 2019

He has already won a lot of product endorsements and much money from netting. But winning is not what always happens when he wagers. A few years ago, he became poorer by US$13,000,000 when he placed his bet on the team he thought would win the Super Bowl. But was it a big deal for him when he knew he was worth US$400,000,000?

2| Michael Jordan

There were theories saying Michael Jordan’s early retirement was just to cover his “secret suspension” brought about by his involvement in gambling which was being investigated. If this were true, it would not be something he could just set aside given that every NBA player is bound to follow the League’s “no betting” code of conduct.

Michael Jordan’s Secret NBA Suspension
The Theory: In light of Michael Jordan’s six-figure gambling, which may have included bets on NBA games, NBA commissioner David Stern suspended Jordan for the 1993–94 season pic.twitter.com/tNPiuq8r5P
— Conspiracy (@ConspiracyforU) February 17, 2019

Setting the theories aside, the Chicago Bulls basketball superstar would constantly be seen in casinos. Later on, he admitted he had already incurred millions in losses. These included his six-digit loss at a casino in Atlantic City and a seven-digit loss on a golf bet. The good thing is, MJ is still known by most more as a winner in the hard court than a loser in the gambling community.

3| Ashton Kutcher

Ashton Kutcher Ashton was quite an impressive replacement to Charlie Sheen in Two and a Half Men. His popularity grew during the show’s run in 2013. And in 2015, Kutcher made more buzz when it was announced he invested in Unikrn, a Seattle-based esports betting company.

But way before this, he had already been on the news for being a gambler. There is really nothing wrong with gambling when it is done legally and in moderation. But expect that you would be some news subject when you are an actor and you lost US$750,000 to college football betting – just like Kutcher.

Ashton loses big in Vegas: Ashton Kutcher once lost $750 000 gambling in Las Vegas. Says the actor: ".. http://tinyurl.com/6omuwf
— News24 (@News24) September 7, 2008

He told Esquire: “We were clearing, like, $750,000 in four weeks of college football. It was pretty fun.”

4| Charlie Sheen

Charlie Sheen Right, Kutcher and Sheen share some things in common. One is playing a character in Two and a Half Men. The other is gambling.

While Sheen was said to be earning US$1.8 million for each episode on Two and a Half Men, he was allegedly spending so much on sportsbooks. Denise Richards, his ex-wife claimed he would shell out as much as $200,000 on bets every week.

Here’s more: There were rumors he partnered with an online sports betting company. But moving on to 2019, Sheen tweeted this:

honored
and very
much
flattered!
i may be the
first,
but i certainly
won't be the last!
trailblazing,
(if i may be so bold)
still suits me!
❤️©️❤️
@maxim_aus
@arthurstjohn @parniaporsche pic.twitter.com/odqQbl6RHc
— Charlie Sheen (@charliesheen) January 23, 2019

Could this be a sign he’s not gambling anymore? Or a sign he has become better at it?

Surely there are a lot of sports bettors out there who wagered more money than these four celebs did. But those bettors most likely did not have names as big as Mayweather’s, MJ’s, Kutcher’s, and Sheen’s. So lucky them, they were saved from getting the bad side of being at the spotlight.