Stake (online casino)

Online casino

Not to be confused with Stake (platform).

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Stake

Industry| Gambling
Founded| 2017 (2017)
Headquarters|

Curaçao

Key people

| Mladen Vučković (CEO)[1]
Revenue| US$2.6 billion (2022)[2]
Website| stake.com

Stake is a Curaçaoan cryptocurrency-based online casino operated by Medium Rare NV, a company incorporated in Curaçao that holds an online casino licence.[3][4] A company with offices in Serbia, Australia, and Cyprus, Stake has staff globally.[5]

## History

[edit]

In 2016, Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani established Easygo, a company that developed games for online casinos.[3] The two co-created Stake, which was launched in 2017.[3] In December 2021, Stake expanded to the United Kingdom (UK) through a partnership with TGP Europe.[6]

On 1 August 2022, Stake.us was launched as a separate site for U.S. residents.[7][8] In June 2023, a federal judge in Manhattan dismissed a $580 million lawsuit against Stake due to jurisdictional issues. The plaintiff, Christopher Freeman, an early associate of Craven and Tehrani, claimed that he had been excluded from the business and mislead using illegal tactics.[9][10] On 4 September, 2023, over US$41 million was stolen from one of Stake's Ethereum wallets in a hacking incident.[11] The Federal Bureau of Investigation attributed the attack to North Korea's Lazarus Group.[12]

In February 2025, Stake announced that the company was giving up its UK gambling licence after complaints that a social media advertisement featuring porn actress Bonnie Blue and the company's logo was using sexual content to attract young customers. The company's UK business closed on 11 March.[13][14]

## Offerings

[edit]

Stake offers traditional casino games (such as slots, blackjack and roulette) and sports betting.[3][15] It offers video streams with live dealers.[3]

Users at Stake generally transact in cryptocurrencies rather than traditional currencies for their betting accounts.[3] Account balances can be withdrawn in the equivalent value of cryptocurrency and then deposited back into the user's personal cryptocurrency wallet.[3] Users of Stake's UK site deal only in fiat currency.[6]

## Advertising and sponsorship

[edit]

Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas in their Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber cars at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix. Logo of Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber

Stake has had sponsorship deals with various musicians,[16] sportspeople,[17][18][19] teams,[20][21][22][23][24] and events[25][26] across many sports.

Stake garnered publicity in 2022 via advertising deals with streaming personalities such as Trainwreckstv, xQc, and Drake, under which they were provided with credit to gamble during streams on Twitch. The surge in gambling streams tied to these deals and others led to scrutiny, resulting in Twitch announcing in September 2022 that it would prohibit streams of online slots, roulette and dice games on services that are not licensed to operate in the United States or "other jurisdictions that provide sufficient consumer protection"—a ban that would include Stake.[7][27][28] Craven and Tehrani subsequently launched a competing livestreaming service known as Kick as a sister company, which would differentiate itself by promising higher revenue splits to streamers than Twitch, and looser content guidelines—especially in regards to gambling streams.[28]

Both Stake and Kick are sponsors of the Sauber Motorsport team in Formula One. The cars' livery alternates between Stake and Kick-branded designs, with the latter usually used in countries where Stake cannot be advertised due to local laws.[29][30]

In February 2024, Stake expanded its involvement in Formula 1 by rebranding the Sauber team as the "Stake F1 Team." The launch event took place at London's Guildhall, where the new C44 car featuring green and black livery was presented.[31][32]

A Stake watermark, like those placed under X content.

In late-2024, it was reported that Stake had partnered with a number of content aggregator accounts on X, which repost viral images and videos taken from other users (sometimes in a plagiarized form), and are edited to include an additional watermark advertising Stake. The UK Advertising Standards Authority stated in October 2024 that it had been made aware of the advertising and was monitoring it. The ads may be a violation of X's terms of service for paid partnerships, while they may run afoul of advertising codes restricting the marketing of gambling products where minors may be present. The watermarks have been satirized as an internet meme by social media users, including posts that include excessive numbers of Stake logos for comedic effect, or similar posts with logos for other companies.[33][34][7]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Fletcher, Robert (10 February 2022). "Stake.com extends UFC LatAm partnership to cover Brazil". iGaming Business. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
2. ^ "Stake Crypto Casino Resumes Operations After $41M Exploit", finance.yahoo.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g Danckert, Sarah (10 December 2021). "The secret Australian origins of the world's biggest crypto casino". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
4. ^ "Medium Rare N.V. :: Curaçao :: OpenCorporates". opencorporates.com. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
5. ^ Begley, Patrick (22 February 2024). "Stake: Inside Edward Craven's 'money machine'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
6. ^ a b Orme-Claye, Ted (17 December 2021). "Stake.com commences UK sports betting and casino operations". SBC News. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
7. ^ a b c Carry, Owen (14 November 2024). "Why This Crypto Casino Wants to Steal Your Best Memes". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
8. ^ Chaser, Bitcoin (2 August 2022). "Stake.us Casino Officially Launched For US Players". BitcoinChaser. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
9. ^ Danckert, Sarah (27 June 2023). "Australian-based Stake.com founders dodge $580 million claim". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
10. ^ Davies, Rob; Rosca, Matei (3 September 2022). "Crypto gambling site that sponsors Everton FC hit with $400m lawsuit". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
11. ^ Mason, Max (5 September 2023). "More than $60m stolen from Young Rich Lister's crypto casino". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
12. ^ Mason, Max (8 September 2023). "North Korea behind $60m heist from Young Rich Lister's crypto casino". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
13. ^ "Everton's sponsor leaves GB amid porn ad probe". BBC News. 12 February 2025. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
14. ^ Adler, Oscar (12 February 2025). "Stake to leave British market over 'adult film actress' advertisement". Gameongazette.
15. ^ Danckert, Sarah (17 March 2022). "Australian casino donates to Ukraine but questions remain over Russian gamblers". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
16. ^ "Drake to host exclusive live streams on Stake.com". SBC News. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
17. ^ Sale, Jessie (1 February 2022). "Stake.com signs Sergio Aguero to boost global brand visibility". SBC News. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
18. ^ Fletcher, Robert (15 March 2022). "Stake.com links up with motorsports' Fittipaldi brothers". iGaming Business. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
19. ^ Orme-Claye, Ted (20 January 2021). "The UFC's middleweight king combines with Stake.com". Insider Sport. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
20. ^ Hunt, Holly (22 July 2021). "Watford inks 'club-record' principal partnership with Stake.com". Insider Sport. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
21. ^ Thomas, Joe (9 June 2022). "Everton new shirt sponsor revealed as 'record' deal struck with gambling firm". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
22. ^ "Mumbai City FC Announce Stake News As A Principal Partner". Mumbai City FC. 16 August 2022. Archived from the original on 18 August 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
23. ^ Noodt, Fernando (18 February 2025). "Stake será patrocinador principal de Ñublense durante 2025" (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 March 2025.
24. ^ "Alfa Romeo confirm new title sponsor and team name change ahead of 2023 season | Formula 1®". formula1.com. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
25. ^ Ross, James (29 March 2022). "Stake.com enters the ring to sponsor the 'Big Drama' in Japan". CasinoBeats. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
26. ^ "USA Cricket Partners With Stakes For Sponsorship Of The USA Vs. Nepal Series". Athlon Sports. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
27. ^ Parrish, Ash (20 September 2022). "Twitch to ban Stake.com streams and other unlicensed gambling content". The Verge. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
28. ^ a b Browning, Kellen (2 December 2023). "Gambling, Risky Pranks and Lucrative Contracts: Inside the Streaming Site Kick". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
29. ^ Brittle, Cian (4 January 2024). "Sauber to alternate F1 team name between Stake and Kick". BlackBook Motorsport. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
30. ^ Lawrence, Dan (5 January 2024). "Sauber to switch between Stake and Kick F1 branding in 2024 and '25". Motorsport Week. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
31. ^ "As it happened: Stake F1 Team's extravagant unveiling party". NEXT.io. January 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
32. ^ Cooper, Adam (1 January 2024). "Renamed Stake F1 team reveals new logo". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
33. ^ "ASA to monitor surge of 'Stake' watermarks on social media". InsiderSport. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
34. ^ Kleen, Brendon (30 October 2024). "X users highlight Stake-sponsored posts that appear to violate platform's paid partnerships policy". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 4 November 2024.