Who is the owner of Stake in South Africa?

The Bottom Line: Stake is owned by Australian billionaire entrepreneurs Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani, who co-founded the platform in 2017. While Stake operates globally and serves South African players, it has no local South African ownership or headquarters.

The world of online cryptocurrency betting has been dominated by one platform in recent years: Stake. For South African players who use this popular crypto casino and sportsbook, understanding who owns Stake provides crucial insight into the platform’s operations, legitimacy, and future prospects.

The Founders Behind Stake

Stake was co-founded in 2017 by two Australian entrepreneurs: Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani. Both men established Easygo in 2016, a company that developed games for online casinos, before launching Stake the following year.

Ed Craven, born in 1995, is an Australian billionaire entrepreneur from Melbourne who developed an early fascination with gambling statistics and online gaming. According to Craven himself, he won $6,000 on a family cruise at age 12, which sparked his interest in the gambling industry’s statistical aspects. His background in technology and cryptocurrencies proved instrumental in creating Stake’s innovative approach to online betting.

While the exact ownership structure remains private, it’s widely believed that both Craven and Tehrani maintain significant stakes in the company. Forbes Australia has estimated their combined net worth at $5.6 billion, built through their success with Stake and their live-streaming platform Kick.

Corporate Structure and Operations

Stake operates under Medium Rare N.V., a company incorporated in Curaçao that holds an online casino license from the Curaçao Gaming Authority under license number OGL/2024/1451/0918. This licensing structure allows Stake to operate legally in multiple jurisdictions worldwide, including serving South African players.

Despite being registered in Curaçao, the company maintains offices in Serbia, Australia, and Cyprus, with staff distributed globally. The platform is run from Melbourne, where its services are not legal for Australian residents, creating an interesting jurisdictional dynamic.

Stake’s Presence in South Africa

While Stake serves South African players and offers localized content for the South African market, it’s important to understand that the platform has no local South African ownership. Stake provides services to South African users through its global platform, offering mobile compatibility and customer support specifically tailored to the South African market.

South African players can access Stake because the country’s gambling laws don’t specifically prohibit cryptocurrency betting, even though traditional gambling faces strict regulations. This legal gray area allows South Africans to use platforms like Stake without facing direct legal consequences.

Financial Success and Global Expansion

The success of Stake has been remarkable, with the platform generating an estimated $2.6 billion in revenue in 2023. This explosive growth has made Craven and Tehrani among Australia’s youngest billionaires.

Craven’s wealth is evident in his real estate investments, including the purchase of a derelict Toorak mansion for A$80 million in 2022—the most expensive house sale in the area—with plans to build a $150 million luxury residence.

The company has also expanded beyond gambling, with Craven and Tehrani launching Kick in 2022, a live-streaming platform designed to compete with Amazon’s Twitch by offering content creators a more favorable 95-5% revenue split.

High-Profile Marketing and Sponsorships

Stake is known for aggressive marketing tactics and high-profile sponsorship deals, including partnerships with Premier League team Everton, UFC fighter Israel Adesanya, and a reported $100 million annual endorsement deal with rapper Drake.

The company has also made significant investments in Formula 1, rebranding the Sauber team as the “Stake F1 Team” in February 2024, with cars alternating between Stake and Kick-branded designs depending on local advertising regulations.

Looking Forward

In March 2025, Craven announced a strategic shift for Stake, transitioning from a cryptocurrency-exclusive platform to accepting 70% of transactions in traditional fiat currency, signaling the company’s evolution to capture broader market segments.

For South African users of Stake, understanding this ownership structure provides transparency about who controls the platform they’re using. While Stake isn’t owned by South Africans, its global approach and cryptocurrency focus continue to make it accessible to South African players navigating the country’s complex gambling landscape.

The success story of Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani demonstrates how innovative approaches to online gambling, combined with cryptocurrency technology, can create billion-dollar enterprises that serve players worldwide, including in markets like South Africa where traditional gambling faces significant restrictions.