Crypto gambling site sponsoring Everton FC seeks $400 million | Gambling

Stake UK, the crypto-gambling company that sponsors Everton FC, has been hit with a $400m (£346m) lawsuit from a former business partner of its co-founders, alleging they stole from him and bullied him out of business.

According to court documents obtained by the Guardian, Florida resident Christopher Freeman claims he was the mastermind behind Primedice, a predecessor company to Stake, which is now valued at more than $1 billion.

Freeman claims he created Primedice with his school friend Bijan Tehrani and Ed Craven, who now runs Stake.

The firm has gone from total obscurity to one of the fastest-growing gambling brands in a matter of years, boasting a partnership with platinum-selling rapper Drake and sponsorship deals with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and F1 driver Pietro Fittipaldi.

It also sponsors Watford FC and is among a plethora of gambling firms, many of them with no presence in the UK, who sponsor English and Scottish football.

According to Freeman’s account, which the company vehemently denies, the trio built the business together, but Tehrani and Craven gradually ousted him using bullying and illegal tactics.

The most important area of ​​contention relates to the origin of the Stake. Freeman says it was his idea to expand Primedice into a more comprehensive crypto casino.

Tehrani and Craven, he says, claimed to be more interested in starting a traditional online casino using “fiat” currency. Eventually, Craven and Tehrani built a cryptocasino, which became Stake.

Freeman claims the business was built using his ideas, as well as Primedice funds that rightfully belonged to him. He is calling for a full audit of Stake assets to see what he owes, which he claims could be more than $400 million.

A spokesperson for Stake said his claims were “internally inconsistent, intentionally misleading and demonstrably false”.

“This filing is a desperate attempt to spread false information and extort money to which Freeman has no right,” they added.

“The company has no intention of giving in to this type of extortion and is confident that these completely frivolous allegations will eventually be rejected by the court.”

Freeman also claims 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.

VPNs create a fake location for a computer, allowing users to gamble with crypto in countries where it is illegal to do so. Freeman’s claim refers to the United States. Crypto gambling is also illegal in the UK.

Stake denied it accepts money from bettors who break the law with a VPN, saying it “complies with all applicable laws”.

“As with all companies in the sector, Stake is experiencing unauthorized users attempting to circumvent geo-blocking using VPNs,” it said.

“The company has implemented strict compliance processes beyond simple geo-blocking, including KYC [know your customer] and other anti-money laundering measures.

“As an example, customers attempting to use VPNs to avoid geoblocks will be prevented from depositing funds under KYC requirements.”

It also pointed to responsible gambling measures, such as offering customers free blocking software for people who want to stop themselves from gambling.

Last month, the Guardian reported that Everton FC asked Stake to stop using club branding in a promotion offering a $10 free bet to anyone who wagered $5,000 in a month.

More than 30,000 Everton fans had previously signed a petition urging the club to end its partnership with the gambling company.