Entertainment tycoon and rapper Jay-Z is backing up his words with cash, as he has plenty, by placing a $1 million bet through Fanatics Sportsbook that the Oklahoma City Thunder will triumph over the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals. 

Jay-Z, being a native New Yorker, might be upset over the Pacers defeating the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals since his $1 million wager at Fanatics is on the Thunder to beat the Pacers in five matches. Yet, the star has been ambiguous about which New York NBA team he prefers — the Knicks or the Brooklyn Nets. He was formerly a minority stakeholder of the Nets, but he divested that share in 2013 to establish his Roc Nation entertainment firm. 

Jay-Z’s NBA wager was made at odds of +230 (wager $100 to gain $230), so if the Thunder, spearheaded by league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, triumph in five games, the artist receives a total of $3.3 million, resulting in a profit of $2.3 million. Remarkable, yet just a small portion of his estimated net worth of $2.5 billion, positioning him as the wealthiest recording artist globally. 

Jay-Z Faces Criticism for Placing Wager with Fanatics 

Jay-Z's $1 million bet with Fanatics Sportsbook raised eyebrows among some critics, who noted that if he truly believed in his Thunder wager, he wouldn't be making the bet with a sportsbook he invests in. 

In August 2021, Jay-Z and Roc Nation collaborated with Major League Baseball (MLB), SoftBank, Silver Lake, Eldridge, TWG Sports Media & Entertainment, and Insight Partners to invest $325 million in Fanatics, elevating the privately held company's valuation to $18 billion — a rise of $5.2 billion within six months. 

In March 2022, Michael Rubin’s private firm secured $1.5 billion at a valuation of $27 billion, suggesting that Jay-Z’s investment became profitable rapidly. After a funding round in December 2022, Fanatics reached a valuation of $31 billion. 

People can criticize Jay-Z for placing a bet with Fanatics, but such criticisms can be rebutted by questioning, “Why would he wager with a rival bookmaker when he’s an investor in Fanatics?” For instance, Warren Buffett prefers Coca-Cola over Pepsi, as his Berkshire Hathaway has historically been one of the major investors in Coca-Cola. 

Jay-Z Involved in Times Square Casino Proposal 

Fanatics’ gaming activities are expanding, but sports clothing and collectibles remain the main sources of revenue for the company. Jay-Z and other investors are not putting their money into a gaming company directly, but rather into a firm that has gaming involvement. 

Jay-Z may have closer connections to the gaming sector. Roc Nation is collaborating with Caesars Entertainment and SL Green to establish a casino hotel in Times Square. The rapper recently visited Albany to advocate for the proposal with New York legislators. 

There are doubts regarding the challenge of establishing a gaming venue in Manhattan, yet it’s plausible that Times Square benefitted from the recent influx of exits from the New York City competition.