The Rangers are one of the biggest teams in the Scottish Premiership, and naturally that attracts a lot of betting money. The team has played at the top of their league for many years and though their performance, like any team, has fluctuated, they have been in many ways a safe bet for years. Naturally, then, there have bene more than a few well-known, famous bets made on the Rangers over the years, whether that’s on the actual games or on more peripheral matters like who might be made the next manager.
Today, we’re going to look at how a few of these bets have panned out and made the news, so let’s dive into it.
1. Relegation
One of the biggest bets ever made according to the football bookmakers on the Rangers was so successful that in the end, Coral refused to pay out on the win. A 72-year-old bettor, in September of 2011, travelled to a branch of the bookmaker to place a bet on the future of the team. Though they were, at that point in the season, second in the whole league, Albert Kinloch offered to bet on them being relegated this season. Given the apparent unlikeliness of this outcome, Coral offered him staggering odds of 2,500/1. He placed a bet of £1.
Within six months, Rangers had gone into administration—which meant that they would then be relegated to the third tier of Scottish football. Coral, however, argued that the team had not been relegated at all, but instead had simply liquidated and returned with a new corporate identity.
The pay-out was refused, then, which no doubt was infinitely disappointing and frustrating to Kinloch. It remains one of the most publicised bets in Rangers’ history.
2. Losses
Another of the most high profile bets made regarding the team was, again, not that they would win, but rather that they would be beaten. In April of 2023, Aberdeen beat Rangers 2-0, in a victory that meant a lot for the club’s future success and endeavours. One smart bettor had placed a bet on this outcome, along with various other games over the weekend in a huge accumulator. The initial stake was only £5, and he managed to walk away with £22,000 in winnings in part thanks to Aberdeen’s win over Rangers.
Betting against the team, then, is sometimes the smarter move and in this case it created a huge windfall for one very lucky bettor.
3. Wins
But it is not all doom and gloom for the team in the betting world, and many successful bets have also been placed in the team’s favour. In October of 2020, Rangers bagged a 2-0 victory against Celtic, and one particularly keen-eyed bettor had placed a risky bet on the outcome and details of the game. One fan bet on the outcome of 2-0, but also on the performance of Connor Goldson to score twice during the game. Having only 10 goals to his name in 119 performances for the team, clearly this one fan knew something that the rest of us didn’t.
He was given odds of 300/1 on the outcome he predicted, and staked the low amount of only £5. His winnings totalled £1,505, including his original stake. So, Connor Goldson managed not only to score three points for his team, but in his incredible and unexpected goal-scoring performance he also brought huge winnings to one particularly lucky player. This is among the biggest bets on a Rangers victory.
Rangers have had big ups and downs over the last few decades, then, and in many ways this has been reflected in how people have bet on the team. Some of the most high profile, successful bets have been on the Rangers, but not always on their winning. Some bets have been so large that the bookies have ultimately refused to pay out, and this was on the team to be relegated rather than to win.