The joy of sports betting is that every now and then a punter gets lured in by massive odds and the unexpected happens and they win big.

Check out three eye-catching bets that have come good in recent years and if you fancy a dabble yourself then why not bet on sports at ladbrokes.com as they have odds on every major sporting event.

Mali madness

When Mali found themselves 4-0 down against Angola with just 15 minutes to play in the opening game of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, the Eagles looked to be heading to a heavy defeat.

One shrewd punter, though, placed a £5 bet on the two teams to draw at 1000/1 – and then watched on in amazement as Mali scored four times, including twice in extra time. The 4-4 draw netted the punter a cool £5,000.

A 19-match bet strikes gold

As every punter knows, football accumulators are difficult to get right.

Predicting the outcome of a large number of games is incredibly tough, but the potential rewards for doing so make it a popular punt. So fair play to the bloke in November 2011 who correctly predicted the outcome of 19 matches having staked one euro at 683,783/1. Nice work!

The joy of six

A hotel worker hit the headlines in 2004 when he became the biggest winner in the history of British betting.

The plucky punter correctly picked six winners from various horse racing meetings, meaning his £2 bet returned him £870,000. Newspaper reports at the time claimed the guy celebrated his huge windfall with a few drinks at his local pub – and who can blame him!