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]

Stake
IndustryGambling
Founded2017 (2017)
Headquarters
Key people
Mladen Vučković (CEO)[1]
RevenueUS$2.6 billion (2022)[2]
Websitestake.com

History

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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 through a partnership with TGP Europe.[6]

On 1 August 2022, Stake.us was launched to provide services to players in the United States.[7]

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.[8][9]

On 4 September, 2023, over US$41 million was stolen from one of Stake's Ethereum wallets in a hacking incident.[10] The Federal Bureau of Investigation attributed the attack to North Korea's Lazarus Group.[11]

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.[12]

Offerings

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Stake offers traditional casino games (such as slots, blackjack and roulette) and sports betting.[3][13] 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transact in cryptocurrencies rather than traditional currencies for their betting accounts.[3] Account balances can be withdrawn in the equivalent value of cryptocurrency and then deposited back into the user's personal cryptocurrency wallet.[3] Users of Stake's UK site deal only in fiat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]

Sponsorships

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Stake has invested in sponsorship deals across several sports, including with UFC fighter Israel Adesanya,[14] English football teams Gillingham, Watford, Everton,[15][16] Indian football club Mumbai City,[17] USA Cricket,[18] Argentine footballer Sergio Agüero,[19] Formula One reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi and his brother, Formula 2 driver Enzo Fittipaldi,[20] Canadian musician Drake,[21] and the Gennady Golovkin vs. Ryōta Murata boxing match.[22] Stake is also sponsoring UFC Light Heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA.

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".[23] The sponsorship deal continued with Sauber after Alfa Romeo's departure from Formula One at the end of the 2023 season. Sauber entered the 2024 and will enter 2025 seasons as "Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber" but goes as "Stake F1 Team" on a day-to-day basis.[24]

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 with 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.[25][26]

See also

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References

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  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. ^ Chaser, Bitcoin (2 August 2022). "Stake.us Casino Officially Launched For US Players". BitcoinChaser. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  8. ^ Danckert, Sarah (27 June 2023). "Australian-based Stake.com founders dodge $580 million claim". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Mason, Max (5 September 2023). "More than $60m stolen from Young Rich Lister's crypto casino". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  11. ^ Mason, Max (8 September 2023). "North Korea behind $60m heist from Young Rich Lister's crypto casino". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  12. ^ "Stake covers €7 million fee to relaunch Idealbet Flagship in Italy". Gameongazette.com. 19 November 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  13. ^ Danckert, Sarah (17 March 2022). "Australian casino donates to Ukraine but questions remain over Russian gamblers". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  14. ^ Orme-Claye, Ted (20 January 2021). "The UFC's middleweight king combines with Stake.com". Insider Sport. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  15. ^ Hunt, Holly (22 July 2021). "Watford inks 'club-record' principal partnership with Stake.com". Insider Sport. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  16. ^ Thomas, Joe (9 June 2022). "Everton new shirt sponsor revealed as 'record' deal struck with gambling firm". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ "USA Cricket Partners With Stakes For Sponsorship Of The USA Vs. Nepal Series". Athlon Sports. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  19. ^ Sale, Jessie (1 February 2022). "Stake.com signs Sergio Aguero to boost global brand visibility". SBC News. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  20. ^ Fletcher, Robert (15 March 2022). "Stake.com links up with motorsports' Fittipaldi brothers". iGaming Business. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  21. ^ "Drake to host exclusive live streams on Stake.com". SBC News. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  22. ^ Ross, James (29 March 2022). "Stake.com enters the ring to sponsor the 'Big Drama' in Japan". CasinoBeats. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  23. ^ "Alfa Romeo confirm new title sponsor and team name change ahead of 2023 season | Formula 1®". formula1.com. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  24. ^ Cooper, Adam (1 January 2024). "Renamed Stake F1 team reveals new logo". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  25. ^ "ASA to monitor surge of 'Stake' watermarks on social media". InsiderSport. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  26. ^ 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.