Crypto punter earns $2.12M betting against Barcelona on Polymarket

A crypto trader pocketed more than $2.12 million in profit after betting against favorites FC Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg on February 12, according to Polymarket data.

As spotted by market tracker Lookonchain on Thursday, PuzzleTricker committed $3.23 million in USDC to back Barcelona’s defeat. When Atlético Madrid took the win by a 4-0 scoreline, the position paid out more than $5.35 million, a 65% return on his outlay.

A week before kickoff, Polymarket traders had assigned Barcelona a 65% probability of winning the first leg. However, PuzzleTricker believed Atletico would win the first tie, buying a total of 53,781.626 shares, predicting a Barca loss and taking home a net profit of $2,125,839.54.

Crypto bettor makes big bucks on football stakes  

According to PuzzleTricker’s trading history on Polymarket, the trader has made 5 profitable football positions in the last two weeks. The account correctly backed Liverpool FC to win on February 11, generating a profit of $278,279.40 on a $353,041.70 stake.

The trader also took a position on Ipswich Town to win on February 7, which produced a $107,444 profit on a $106,788 commitment. Another position featured Dutch football club AZ Alkmaar, where PuzzleTrader placed a $17,575.21 stake and realized a 96% profit totaling $16,906 on January 31. 

The account’s all-time profit-and-loss chart shows cumulative gains of $1,934,732, with the Atletico-sponsored win on Thursday at the top of the earnings list.

US sports leagues eye prediction market partnerships

US sports organization Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday that the league may consider working with companies such as Polymarket and Kalshi.

Speaking during a meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, Manfred told team owners that partnerships with prediction market platforms could help safeguard the league’s “integrity.”

“We thought it was important for the owners to be updated on why prediction markets are different from sports betting, which is why we might want to consider being in business with prediction markets to get the kind of protections we need,” Manfred denoted.

In October, the NHL signed agreements with Polymarket and Kalshi, becoming the first major US sports league to formalize such a deal. A month later, TKO Group Holdings, parent company of the UFC, announced a partnership with Polymarket. The US Major League Soccer followed with its own agreement last month, Cryptopolitan reported.

The NBA has not signed a formal deal with prediction platforms, but Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo disclosed earlier in February that he holds an ownership stake in Kalshi.

During All-Star Weekend, Kalshi founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara, alongside Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan, are scheduled to speak at the league’s technology summit. 

Meanwhile, a California resident named Alexander Yoon filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York claiming Polymarket misled him about the legality of its services in his state. Yoon opened an account in December, believing that Polymarket was lawfully offering online sports betting markets in California, based on its advertising.

The plaintiff says he has stopped using the platform but fears he “may be tricked by Polymarket in the future into engaging in unlawful gambling in California if Polymarket continues to claim that its practices are legal.”

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