Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has found itself in the middle of a social media firestorm after advising punters “to always bet on black” ahead of the historic Floyd “Money” Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor fight this weekend.

he Independent reported that the Dublin-based bookmaker has already settled bets of those who have backed Mayweather to beat the Irishman in the multi-million dollar mega-bout this Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Punters who wagered on Mayweather received £250,000 (US$320,175) four days before the biggest commercial night in the history of combat sports.

Paddy Power, however, grabbed people’s attention with what some described as a racist explanation on why it decided to pay out on Mayweather against their countryman McGregor.

The Irish bookmaker tweeted on Wednesday an advertisement that read: “Always bet on black. We’ve paid out early on a Mayweather victory. Because we checked only one of them is a boxer.”

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