By Frankie Stein

If you’re looking for inspiration for your next bet, here’s a list of the biggest sports betting wins of all time.

1. Adrian Hayward 
2. Anonymous punters
3. Tayla Polia 
4. Gerry Mcllroy 
5. Nicholas Newlife
6. Peter Edwards
7. Mick Gibbs 
8. Richard Hopkins
9. Vegas Dave
10. 10.Anonymous punter
11. 11.Anonymous punter
12. 12.Anonymous punter
13. 13.Erick Lindgren
14. 14.Anonymous punter 
15. 15.Phil Mickelson 
16. 16.Mick Gibbs 
17. 17.Darren Yates’ Magnificent Seven 
18. 18.Anonymous punter 
19. 19.Charles Barkley 
20. 20.James Adducci 
21. 21.Mike Futter
22. 22.Fred Craggs 
23. 23.Steve Whiteley
24. 24.Vegas Dave 
25. 25.Billy Walters 

Adrian Hayward 

In 2005, a Liverpool fan named Adrian Hayward placed a £200 bet on midfielder Xabi Alonso to score from his own half at odds of 125-1. Alonso fulfilled his bet in 2006, during Liverpool’s game against Luton Town in the FA Cup’s third round, with a goal scored in the opposite end of the field during the game’s closing minutes. As a result, Liverpool won 5-3 and Hayward won a staggering £25,000, which is considered one of the largest football betting wins of all time.

Adrian, who has been a Liverpool supporter for 26 years, noticed that Alonso attempted shooting from his own half several times in the last season. He expressed his excitement about the possibility of Alonso eventually scoring from such attempts.

“I had a vision that my bet would win when the opposing team’s goalkeeper would come out for a corner in a cup game. I was amazed when Luton got a corner and the goalkeeper ran upfield. It was overwhelming when the bet was successful and I went crazy from excitement.”

Anonymous punters

Two bettors in Saratoga Springs, USA, placed a $0.10 superfecta bet wherein they correctly predicted the exact order of the first four horses to finish. The winning horse, an 88/1 underdog, ensured that their total winnings amounted to $76,000 (approximately £58,000). This victory is one of the most significant in the world of betting.

Tayla Polia 

Tayla Polia, who had very little previous experience with betting, won an impressive $105,000 (around £80,000) from William Hill, one of the largest football betting companies. She did this by placing a $5 bet on a 15-leg parlay with 20,000-to-1 odds on the NFL. 

Tayla chose a range of teams to win, including Vikings, Falcons, Texans, Chiefs, Redskins, Patriots, Cardinals, Giants, Seahawks, Packers, Chargers, Steelers, Bengals, and Lions. Her winnings were quite large and she became known as an outstanding success in betting, now he actively plays real money online casino from 1xBet and also receives significant winnings.

Gerry Mcllroy 

In 2004, Gerry McIl placed a £200 bet on his 15-year-old son Rory McIlroy winning the British Open within 10 years at odds of 500-1. Gerry’s friends also placed bets, resulting in a payout of £100,000 to Gerry and £80,000 to his friends when Rory won the tournament by two shots over Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler.

Nicholas Newlife

Nicholas Newlife’s inspiring story of betting on Roger Federer’s future success at Wimbledon for just £1,520 and winning an astounding £101,840 almost a decade later is one of the biggest betting wins. Sadly, Nicholas passed away in 2009 and wasn’t able to enjoy the win, but his generous donation to Oxfam is a testament to his humanitarian spirit.

Peter Edwards

Peter Edwards, a 62-year-old man, bet £50 that his grandson, Harry Wilson, would become a professional footballer for Wales. His prediction came true 15 years later when Wilson achieved this feat at the age of 16, earning Peter a whopping £125,000. 

This impressive win allowed Peter to retire happily, and it remains one of the biggest and most inspiring betting success stories.

Mick Gibbs 

Mick Gibbs won an incredible £157,000 by correctly predicting the outcome of nine football games across Europe on a £2.50 bet in 1999. Although this win is considered one of the largest in betting history, Gibbs would go on to win even more in the future.

Richard Hopkins

 Richard Hopkins from Peterborough placed multiple bets totaling £165,000 on go-kart driver Lewis Hamilton’s success after witnessing his impressive skills while taking his son Evan go-kart racing in 1998. He initially placed a £200 bet on Hamilton winning a Grand Prix by the age of 23 at odds 300. He then placed a £100 bet on Hamilton winning the World Championship by the age of 25 at odds 500, and an additional £50 bet on both predictions happening at odds 1,500. 

Ten years later, Hamilton won his first Formula 1 World Championship and Hopkins made an impressive £165,000.

Vegas Dave

 In November 2015, Dave Oancea, a famous gambler from Las Vegas, won big in sports gambling. He placed a $20,000 bet on Holly Holm to beat Ronda Rousey in UFC 193, and at 11-1 odds, he won $200,000 (approximately £150,000).

Anonymous punter

 In 2017, someone who placed an $8,500 parlay bet at an MGM Resorts sports book won $250,000 after correctly predicting the outcomes of five events, including the Detroit Lions beating the New York Giants with a final score of 24-10. This is considered one of the largest betting wins ever.

Anonymous punter

One lucky punter won a massive £200,000 by betting only £100 on Leicester City, the 5000/1 underdogs, to win the Premier League in 2015. Leicester’s victory surprised many people, and this kind of bet is one of the most popular in football. Leigh Herbert, who was on holiday, placed a bet of only £5 on the same odds and won £20,600 due to the Foxes. This turned out to be a lucky bet for him.

Anonymous punter

 In 2016, a Las Vegas resident placed a $5 bet at William Hill sportsbook, which required a $5 weekly entry for participation. The bettor selected 12 basketball winners on a parlay card over a weekend and picked two NBA winners- Detroit Pistons and Golden State Warriors. They ended up winning $305,375 (approximately £233,000).

Erick Lindgren

Erick Lindgren, an experienced professional poker player, won a bet of $340,000 which was placed by other professional players. 

The bet was that he would not be able to play four consecutive rounds of golf in Las Vegas’ hot weather while carrying his own clubs, and shooting under a 100 in each round from the pro tees. However, Lindgren proved them wrong and accomplished the challenge, resulting in one of the largest betting wins.

Anonymous punter 

Before the 2011 MLB season, an anonymous bettor placed two bets at the MGM sports book in Las Vegas. The bettor initially wagered $250 on the St. Louis Cardinals winning the National League pennant, and later bet an additional $250 on them winning the World Series. The bettor won both bets as the St. Louis Cardinals won both titles, and the payout was a total of $375,000 (about £286,000).

Phil Mickelson 

Professional golfer Phil Mickelson won $560,000 (approximately £426,000) after betting $20,000 on the Baltimore Ravens to win the Super Bowl before the 2000 NFL season. Despite the Ravens having a 6-2 record in the previous season, Mickelson formed a betting syndicate to place the bet at 22/1 odds and did not use an accumulator. This is an impressive example of a big sports betting win.

Mick Gibbs 

Mick Gibbs, a roofer, has made it to the list of biggest betting wins for the second time with a staggering £500,000 win. He placed a bet of just 30 pence on a 15-leg accumulator bet with the odds being 1,666,666/1. He accurately predicted the outcomes of the first 14 games, and the final Champions League match between Bayern Munich and Valencia was decided in penalties, with Bayern Munich’s goalkeeper making a move that led to Gibbs’ significant win.

Darren Yates’ Magnificent Seven 

In 1996, Darren Yates placed a remarkable bet in horse racing. He bet £62 on jockey Frankie Dettorri winning all seven of his rides at Ascot on that day. 

This bet, famously known as the ‘magnificent seven’, resulted in a win of £550,000 for Yates.

Anonymous punter 

In November 2011, someone from Malta placed a bet of 80 pence through William Hill. The bet was a 19-match accumulator with odds of 683,738/1. The bettor’s predictions for all 19 matches were correct, and as a result, they won £585,000. The winning moment happened when Liverpool scored the winning goal against Chelsea in the closing minutes of the game. This win is considered to be one of the biggest ever in the world of betting.

Charles Barkley 

Charles Barkley, an NBA Champion with a well-known name in sports betting, won big when he bet $500,000 on the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl in 2002. Despite being a 14-point underdog against the St. Louis Rams, the Patriots triumphed with Tom Brady’s first Super Bowl win. Barkley ultimately won a whopping $800,000 (about £608,000).

James Adducci 

James Adducci won $1.2 million from an $85,000 bet on Tiger Woods, who won his first major championship in 11 years at the 2019 Masters. The bet was a bold move, as Woods had not won a championship in so long, but it paid off for Adducci.

 Although risky, Adducci’s bold move resulted in a successful outcome, earning him $1.2 million (equivalent to £760,000) and setting a new record at William Hill for the highest individual payout on a futures bet, as well as being one of the biggest wins in betting history.

Mike Futter

In 2003, Mike Futter gained a lot of recognition in the betting industry after he won £800,000. He achieved this by successfully betting on his own horse, Monty’s Pass. 

As the horse’s owner, he received £348,000 and an additional £400,000 for correctly betting on Monty’s Pass, whose odds had shortened from 40/1 to 16/1.

Fred Craggs 

A man named Fred Craggs, who sold fertilizers and was 60 years old, placed a bet with a value of 50 pence. This bet led to a life-changing outcome, as he won £1 million from it. The bet was an eight-fold accumulator, where he picked the winners of multiple horse races held across the world. This win made him a famous name in the world of sports betting. Interestingly, Craggs was not aware of his victory until he went back to the bookmaker to gamble again. However, if he had opted for a no-limit bet, he would have won a total of £1.4 million. Even though he didn’t choose the no-limit bet, the prize he won is still quite substantial, isn’t it?

Steve Whiteley

 In 2011, Steve Whiteley, a heating engineer who got a free ticket to attend horse races, placed a £2 bet and won £1.5 million. He correctly picked all six horses, including one that had lost in its previous 28 races. This is one of the biggest betting wins with the lowest stakes.

Vegas Dave 

Do you recall Dave Oancea’s 2015 record-breaking bet? In the second win, he placed a $140,000 bet on the Kansas City Royals to win the World Series with 30/1 odds and won $2.5 million. However, the bet had to be divided among 15 different casinos because they did not agree to take on his liability. 

Many people thought he was crazy for risking it, but it paid off when the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Mets and Oancea ended up winning a $2.5 million prize (approximately £1.9 million).

Billy Walters 

In 2010, Billy Walters made a successful bet of $3.5 million when the New Orleans Saints played against the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl XLIV. Billy started his gambling journey with playing poker before getting into sports betting. He is known for setting records for his winning streaks, which proves that sports betting is not solely based on luck but requires skill. Walter made a wise decision and bet $3.5 million (about £2.7 million) on the New Orleans Saints, who were the underdogs. His bet turned out to be successful as the Saints won their first ever Super Bowl against the Colts with a score of 31-17. This win not only became one of the biggest sports betting wins but also one of the biggest wins in betting history.

The biggest and most monumental sports betting wins ever have certainly been a source of inspiration for many aspiring bettors. From Billy Walters’ $3.5 million win on the New Orleans Saints to Mick Gibbs’ £500,000 win from an accumulator with odds of 1,666,666/1; these stories are proof that if you take calculated risks and research properly before placing any bets then your chances of winning big increase significantly. With this in mind, it is important to remember that sports betting should always be done responsibly as there is no guarantee that every bet will turn out profitable.