Stake

Stake.com is blocked in the US, UK, and Australia because gambling regulators in those countries prohibit offshore online casinos from legally accepting players. The platform is transparent about this, stating the restriction directly in its bio, and operates under a Curaçao gaming license that is not recognized by authorities in those three major markets. Players based there are directed to geo-compliant alternatives.

Stake.com was co-founded by Australians Edward Craven and Bijan Tehrani, who launched the platform in 2017. Craven became one of the most publicly recognized figures behind the brand and was reported to be among Australia's youngest billionaires on the back of Stake's rapid growth in the crypto-gambling space.

Yes, Eden Hazard — the former Chelsea and Real Madrid winger — joined Stake.com as a brand partner, with Stake welcoming him publicly as "the legend" on their official Instagram. His signing fits Stake's broader strategy of partnering with globally recognized football icons to build credibility and reach across international sports audiences.

Drake became one of Stake.com's most high-profile public users, with several of his large bets — including reported losses running into the millions — going viral across social media. His association with the platform is widely credited with bringing Stake into mainstream pop-culture conversation well beyond the crypto-gambling community.

UFC president Dana White is a well-known partner and public ambassador for Stake.com, a relationship reflected in Stake's consistently heavy UFC-themed content, including posts tied to major fight cards and fighter storylines. The partnership is a natural fit given Stake's core audience of combat sports fans and the UFC's global reach.

Because Stake.com is unavailable in the US, the company launched Stake.us as a separate social casino that operates under US sweepstakes laws. Stake.us allows American players to access casino-style games without traditional real-money wagering, keeping it legally compliant across most US states.

Yes, Stake.com was built as a crypto-first casino and accepts Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and several other cryptocurrencies for deposits and withdrawals. Its crypto-native model was central to its rapid rise, drawing users from the broader blockchain community who preferred decentralized payment methods for online gambling.

Stake promoted a boxing event held at extreme high altitude — over 10,000 feet above sea level — billing it as a first-of-its-kind spectacle due to the thin-air conditions that dramatically affect fighter stamina and knockout probability. The event is part of Stake's ongoing approach of staging unconventional combat sports productions to generate content that stands apart from standard online casino marketing.

Stake's content mix shows heavy investment in the UFC, boxing, and football, with official posts covering major fight cards, fighter signings like Eden Hazard, and high-profile combat sports spectacles. The brand uses sports sponsorship as its primary marketing channel, a deliberate strategy given advertising restrictions that prevent it from running conventional digital ad campaigns in key markets.

Stake's official Instagram account sits in the Macro tier with over one million followers, and its engagement rate runs notably above the category median for brand accounts — a strong signal for a platform that cannot openly advertise in the US, UK, or Australia. The account focuses on sports entertainment content rather than direct gambling promotions to maintain broad reach.