History’s Biggest Ever Football Bet Wins

The world of sports betting is massive, with bookmakers having been a part of British high streets for as long as we remember. Football bets are a multi-billion dollar industry, with a staggering 70 percent of the world’s total sports betting revenue being made up of football wagers.

Online sports betting makes things even easier for players and sportsbooks alike, with anyone able to put together a bet from the comfort of their own home. Even mobile sports gambling is available nowadays, meaning you can play on the go or make quick football bets while watching the game at the pub.

Of course, the main thing about online sports betting for winning big is that hefty accumulator bets are easier to put together. That’s how some of these lucky punters managed to turn pennies into riches in the biggest football bets ever.

Manchester United fan turns £2.50 into £157,000

An anonymous Manchester United fan in Lichfield, England, was well-known at his local bookmakers before this bet, but became a lot more well-known afterwards!

He placed a £2.50 accumulator bet on a series of matches, including pipping Manchester United to win the UEFA Champions’ League. Famously, they did so in extra time against Bayern Munich, netting the Lichfield man a hefty £157,000.

Evidently a man confident in his own abilities, the cocky punter even told the bookmaker that he would be back to do the same again.

Leicester’s win costs the UK bookies £25 million

The 2015/16 Premier League season will go down in history as one of the most memorable of all time. Leicester City’s win is likely the most improbable sporting achievement of all time, with many bookmakers offering pre-season odds of 5,000/1 on them topping the table.

Just the season prior, Leicester City had come very close to relegation. Only a miracle winning streak in the dying weeks of the season prevented them from being pushed back down to the Championship. Leicester City’s win marks the shortest time between a club being in the relegation zone and topping the Premier League table.

In 2008/9, Leicester were in the third tier of English football before making their way back to the Championship, failing famously to win the Premiership play-offs in 2012/13 before securing promotion the next season.

In short, a team that just seven years prior had been playing outside the top two levels of English football were offered the same odds for a Premiership win as Elvis Presley being spotted alive. This meant that many customers walked away with up to £100,000 each, with UK bookmakers reporting their biggest loss on a single outcome in the history of British sport: down £25 million.

The same Red Devil wins £500,000 from £0.30

Guess what – remember the guy from the first entry on this list who won £157,000 from £2.50 and then claimed he’d come back and do it again? Well, he came back and did the same again!

The same Manchester United fan who saw his fortunes bolstered to the tune of £157,000 returned to the very same bookmaker two years later with a £0.30 accumulator. This time it was on a varying number of football and rugby fixtures, and resulted in a huge win. He locked up £500,000 when Bayern Munich sealed the deal for him.

He never said whether or not he’d be back to do it a third time, but it’s been nearly sixteen years now so perhaps he really has quit while he’s ahead!

The world’s most improbable accumulator?

Bookmakers make vast amounts of money from hopeful football bettors making crazy accumulators. In fact, whenever a small accumulator comes in, the bookmakers laugh all the way to the bank and line their pockets.

However, it was a customer who had the last laugh at the expense of UK bookmakers Ladbrokes, who were forced to pay out £272,000 after his £2.50 accumulator came through. The unlikely bet required Chelsea to lose to Wolverhampton Warriors, Barcelona failing to beat Bilbao and Liverpool being overthrown by Blackburn:

- Arsenal v Man City: D (11/4)

- Aston Villa v Sunderland: A (11/4)

- Blackburn v Liverpool: H (11/4)

- Bolton v Wigan: D (5/2)

- Newcastle v West Ham: H (4/5)

- Wolves v Chelsea: H (6/1)

- Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona: D (4/1)

- Deportivo la Coruna v Cordoba: D (4/1)

- Malaga v Sevilla: H (6/4)

The total odds of the bet were almost 110,000/1, which meant that the price of a cup of coffee became the price of a small house when all the above results came good.