Stake (online casino) explained

Stake
Industry:Gambling
Key People:Mladen Vučković (CEO)[1]
Revenue:US$2.6 billion (2022)[2]

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

History

In 2016, Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani established Easygo, a company that developed games for online casinos. The two co-created Stake, which was launched in 2017.

In December 2021, Stake expanded to the United Kingdom 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 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 November 2024, Stake announced that they purchased the Italian company Baldo Line SRL in a strategic move to help Stake increase their influence in Italy trough the brand Idealbet.[13]

Offerings

Stake offers traditional casino games (such as slots, blackjack and roulette) and sports betting.[14] It offers video streams with live dealers.

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 Account balances can be withdrawn in the equivalent value of cryptocurrency and then deposited back into the user's personal cryptocurrency wallet.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

Sponsorships

Stake has invested in sponsorship deals across several sports, including with UFC fighter Israel Adesanya,[15] English football teams Gillingham, Watford, Everton,[16] [17] Indian football club Mumbai City,[18] USA Cricket,[19] Argentine footballer Sergio Agüero,[20] Formula One reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi and his brother, Formula 2 driver Enzo Fittipaldi,[21] Canadian musician Drake,[22] and the Gennady Golovkin vs. Ryōta Murata boxing match.[23] Stake is also sponsoring UFC Light Heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA.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.[24] [25] 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.

In January 2023, the Alfa Romeo F1 Team announced that Stake would be their title sponsor in a multi-year deal, with the team renamed to "Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake".[26] In 2024, the sponsorship deal continued with Sauber after Alfa Romeo's departure from Formula One at the end of the 2023 season, with the team operating as "Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber".[27] Stake logos on the team's livery are replaced with those of Kick during selected races, particularly those held in countries where Stake cannot be advertised due to local laws.[28] [29]

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 (such as Dave & Buster's).[30] [31]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Fletcher . Robert . 10 February 2022 . Stake.com extends UFC LatAm partnership to cover Brazil . 27 April 2022 . iGaming Business . en-GB.
  2. Stake Crypto Casino Resumes Operations After $41M Exploit . finance.yahoo.com.
  3. Web site: Danckert . Sarah . 10 December 2021 . The secret Australian origins of the world's biggest crypto casino . 25 April 2022 . The Sydney Morning Herald . en.
  4. Web site: Medium Rare N.V. :: Curaçao :: OpenCorporates . 12 September 2023 . opencorporates.com.
  5. Web site: Begley . Patrick . 22 February 2024 . Stake: Inside Edward Craven’s ‘money machine’ . subscription . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240221180811/https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-private-chat-messages-from-inside-an-australian-billionaire-s-money-machine-20240216-p5f5l2.html . 21 February 2024 . 15 April 2024 . The Sydney Morning Herald.
  6. Web site: Orme-Claye . Ted . 17 December 2021 . Stake.com commences UK sports betting and casino operations . 25 April 2022 . SBC News . en-US.
  7. News: Carry . Owen . 2024-11-14 . Why This Crypto Casino Wants to Steal Your Best Memes . 2024-11-29 . Slate . en-US . 1091-2339.
  8. Web site: Chaser . Bitcoin . 2 August 2022 . Stake.us Casino Officially Launched For US Players . 22 January 2024 . BitcoinChaser . en-US.
  9. Web site: Danckert . Sarah . 27 June 2023 . Australian-based Stake.com founders dodge $580 million claim . 5 September 2023 . The Sydney Morning Herald . en.
  10. News: Davies . Rob . Rosca . Matei . 3 September 2022 . Crypto gambling site that sponsors Everton FC hit with $400m lawsuit . en-GB . The Guardian . 5 September 2023 . 0261-3077.
  11. Web site: Mason . Max . 5 September 2023 . More than $60m stolen from Young Rich Lister's crypto casino . subscription . 5 September 2023 . Australian Financial Review . en.
  12. Web site: Mason . Max . 8 September 2023 . North Korea behind $60m heist from Young Rich Lister's crypto casino . subscription . 9 September 2023 . Australian Financial Review . en.
  13. Web site: 19 November 2024 . Stake covers €7 million fee to relaunch Idealbet Flagship in Italy. . 19 November 2024 . Gameongazette.com.
  14. Web site: Danckert . Sarah . 17 March 2022 . Australian casino donates to Ukraine but questions remain over Russian gamblers . 25 April 2022 . The Sydney Morning Herald . en.
  15. Web site: Orme-Claye . Ted . 20 January 2021 . The UFC's middleweight king combines with Stake.com . 27 April 2022 . Insider Sport . en-US.
  16. Web site: Hunt . Holly . 22 July 2021 . Watford inks 'club-record' principal partnership with Stake.com . 27 April 2022 . Insider Sport . en-US.
  17. Web site: Thomas . Joe . Everton new shirt sponsor revealed as 'record' deal struck with gambling firm . Liverpool Echo . 18 June 2022 . 9 June 2022.
  18. Web site: 16 August 2022. Mumbai City FC Announce Stake News As A Principal Partner. 18 August 2022. Mumbai City FC. en-US. 18 August 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220818170643/https://www.mumbaicityfc.com/news/mumbai-city-fc-announce-stake-news-as-principal-partner. live.
  19. Web site: 16 October 2024. USA Cricket Partners With Stakes For Sponsorship Of The USA Vs. Nepal Series. 18 October 2024. Athlon Sports. en-US.
  20. Web site: Sale . Jessie . 1 February 2022 . Stake.com signs Sergio Aguero to boost global brand visibility . 27 April 2022 . SBC News . en-US.
  21. Web site: Fletcher . Robert . 15 March 2022 . Stake.com links up with motorsports' Fittipaldi brothers . 27 April 2022 . iGaming Business . en-GB.
  22. Web site: 3 March 2022 . Drake to host exclusive live streams on Stake.com . 4 May 2022 . SBC News . en-US.
  23. Web site: Ross . James . 29 March 2022 . Stake.com enters the ring to sponsor the 'Big Drama' in Japan . 27 April 2022 . CasinoBeats . en-US.
  24. Web site: Parrish . Ash . 2022-09-20 . Twitch to ban Stake.com streams and other unlicensed gambling content . 2024-11-29 . The Verge . en.
  25. Web site: Browning . Kellen . 2023-12-02 . Gambling, Risky Pranks and Lucrative Contracts: Inside the Streaming Site Kick . 2024-11-29 . The New York Times.
  26. Web site: Alfa Romeo confirm new title sponsor and team name change ahead of 2023 season Formula 1® . 28 January 2023 . formula1.com . en.
  27. Web site: Cooper . Adam . 1 January 2024 . Renamed Stake F1 team reveals new logo . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240101091941/https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/renamed-stake-f1-team-reveals-new-logo/10561773 . 1 January 2024 . 1 January 2024 . Motorsport.com . en.
  28. Web site: Brittle . Cian . 2024-01-04 . Sauber to alternate F1 team name between Stake and Kick . 2024-01-07 . BlackBook Motorsport . en-GB.
  29. Web site: Lawrence . Dan . 2024-01-05 . Sauber to switch between Stake and Kick F1 branding in 2024 and '25 . 2024-01-07 . Motorsport Week . en-GB.
  30. Web site: 2024-10-11 . ASA to monitor surge of ‘Stake’ watermarks on social media . 2024-11-03 . InsiderSport.
  31. Web site: Kleen . Brendon . 2024-10-30 . X users highlight Stake-sponsored posts that appear to violate platform's paid partnerships policy . 2024-11-04 . Awful Announcing . en-US.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Stake (online casino)".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.