“As with all companies in the sector, Stake experiences unauthorised users attempting to evade geoblocking through the use of VPNs,” it said. Stake denied that it accepts money from bettors skirting the law with a VPN, saying it “complies with all applicable laws”. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

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Crypto gambling is also illegal in the UK. VPNs create a spoof location for a computer, allowing users to gamble with crypto in countries where it is not legal to do so. is technically based on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao but is connected to an Australian business called EasyGo.įreeman also alleges that Stake is not only aware of, but encourages, the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) by customers who want to gamble with Stake but cannot legally do so. “The company does not intend to give in to this sort of blackmail, and are confident that these utterly frivolous allegations will be dismissed by the court in due course.” “This filing is a desperate attempt to spread false information and extort money over which Freeman has no claim,” they added. He is demanding a full audit of Stake assets to see what he is owed, which he claims could be more than $400m.Ī spokesperson for Stake said his claims were “internally inconsistent, intentionally misleading, and provably false”. In the end, Craven and Tehrani did build a crypto casino, which became Stake.įreeman alleges the business was built using his ideas, as well as Primedice funds that rightfully belonged to him. Tehrani and Craven, he says, claimed to be more interested in starting a traditional online casino, using “fiat” currency. Freeman says it was his idea to expand Primedice into a more comprehensive crypto casino. The key bone of contention relates to the origin of Stake. It also sponsors Watford FC and is among a glut of gambling firms, many of them with no presence in the UK, that sponsor English and Scottish football.Īccording to Freeman’s account, which the company strenuously denies, the trio built the business together but Tehrani and Craven gradually edged him out, using bullying and unlawful tactics. The firm has gone from total obscurity to one of the fastest-growing gambling brands within a few years, boasting a partnership with platinum-selling rapper Drake and sponsorship deals with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and F1 driver Pietro Fittipaldi. Freeman claims he set up Primedice with school friend Bijan Tehrani and Ed Craven, who now run Stake.

Stake gambling vpn