Stake civil suit: lawsuit alleges Ed Craven helped a former minor bypass self-exclusion

Editorial note: This article reports on an active civil lawsuit. The allegations against Stake and Ed Craven have not been adjudicated and remain disputed. Stake denies wrongdoing. Quotations attributed below are drawn from filings reported by ABC News Australia.

The essence of the conflict: VIP status for a minor

A high-profile lawsuit is unfolding around the popular crypto platform Stake. A player from Sweden, who appears in the case under the name Chris, has filed a lawsuit against the company's co-founder Ed Craven. The plaintiff is demanding compensation in the amount of $1.5 million - this is how much he left on the site between 2020 and 2024.

The story began in the summer of 2020. At that time, Chris was only 17 years old, but this did not prevent him from becoming the object of close attention of the casino management. The lawsuit alleges Ed Craven personally contacted the player after he had lost more than $150,000 over several months.

According to filings reported by ABC, by October of the same year the player had reportedly disclosed losses of approximately €2.3 million at the third-party site Bitcasino.

Seven accounts and bypassing blocking

The most scandalous part of the lawsuit concerns the events of 2021. Realising the problem, Chris tried to use the self-exclusion feature to block his access to games. However, the addiction took its toll, and he turned to Craven with a request to help circumvent the ban.

In the correspondence published by ABC, it is clear that Craven initially questioned the correctness of such a step, calling it "not the best idea." The lawsuit further alleges that a new account with VIP privileges was subsequently approved. Formally, the account was registered to Chris's "friend", but was managed by the plaintiff himself.

The complaint claims that approximately seven separate accounts were created, and that VIP status was activated on each. Stake disputes this characterisation. The final chord sounded in November 2024: after losing $700,000 in blackjack, Chris asked Craven to return at least 25% of the amount, but was refused.

The position of the defence and cynical confessions

Stake's lawyers have chosen aggressive defence tactics. They claim that Chris is only manipulating the topic of gambling addiction to compensate for his financial losses. According to casino representatives, the dynamics of the player's deposits did not have obvious signs of pathological behaviour.

Filings cite a passage attributed to Craven that the plaintiff's counsel argues is material to the case: In the case materials, correspondence surfaced, where he directly explains to Chris the mechanics of the business:

"Slots are designed to f*** players, it's almost impossible to make a profit."

The plaintiff's counsel contends this passage shows knowledge of player risk; Stake's defence denies this characterisation. The matter remains before the courts.