If you’ve spent five minutes on the internet lately, you’ve seen the logo. It’s on the side of Formula 1 cars, it’s plastered across English Premier League jerseys, and it’s the reason your favorite streamer is suddenly "winning" $200,000 on a single slot pull. Stake has become a multi-billion-dollar ghost ship. People know it's there, they see the money flowing, but if you ask who actually signs the checks, you get a lot of blank stares or whispers about Drake.
Honestly, the truth is way more interesting than a celebrity sponsorship.
Stake.com wasn't started in a boardroom in Vegas. It was born from two guys who met playing RuneScape as teenagers. That’s not a joke. While most kids were just trying to level up their woodcutting skills, Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani were figuring out how to turn digital assets into a gambling empire.
The Men Behind the Screen: Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani
You might have heard the name "Edd Miroslav" floating around. For years, that was the online alias for Edward Craven, the Australian billionaire who, at just 30 years old, has become one of the youngest self-made billionaires on the planet. He’s the face of the operation, often seen on his own streaming platform, Kick, talking to the community like he’s just another gamer.
Then there’s Bijan Tehrani. He’s the co-founder, the quieter half of the duo, and the man who helps steer the ship from behind the scenes.
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The two of them own the lion's share of the business through a parent company called Easygo. If you want to get technical, Easygo Entertainment Pty Ltd is the Melbourne-based engine that builds the software, while the gambling operations usually run under the name Medium Rare N.V., a company registered in Curaçao.
Does Drake actually own Stake?
This is the big one. People see Drake betting $20 million on the Super Bowl or dropping millions on roulette and assume he must own a piece of the pie.
He doesn't.
Drake is a "brand ambassador." Now, he’s a very well-paid brand ambassador—rumored to be making upwards of $100 million a year for the partnership—but he doesn’t have equity in the company. In fact, things got a bit messy in late 2025. There were reports of Drake calling out Ed Craven on a stream, even labeling him a "snake" after some alleged issues with withdrawals and the way the partnership was handled. While they’ve had a massive run together, the "ownership" talk is basically just effective marketing that worked a little too well.
The Corporate Web: Medium Rare N.V. and Easygo
If you look at the bottom of the Stake website, you’ll see "Medium Rare N.V." It sounds like a steakhouse, but it’s actually the legal entity that holds the Curaçao gaming license. This is pretty standard for crypto casinos. Curaçao has historically been the go-to spot for online gambling because the taxes are low and the red tape is... let's just say "flexible."
However, by 2026, the walls started closing in a bit. Curaçao overhauled its licensing system, moving away from the old master license/sublicense model to something more regulated. This forced Stake to get more "corporate."
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- Easygo Gaming: This is the Melbourne software house where the magic happens. They employ hundreds of developers.
- Sweepsteaks Limited: This is the entity often tied to Stake.us, the "social casino" version of the site that allows them to legally operate in most of the United States.
- Stake Colombia SAS: A licensed arm for the South American market.
They aren't just a website; they are a sprawling network of companies designed to keep the lights on even when one country decides to pull the plug.
The $400 Million Lawsuit You Never Heard About
Success like this always attracts sharks, or in this case, former friends. A guy named Christopher Freeman sued Craven and Tehrani for roughly $400 million (and later updated those claims), alleging he was a co-founder of their earlier project, Primedice, and was unfairly cut out of the eventual creation of Stake.
Freeman's argument was basically that he did the legwork and the duo used a "confusing corporate structure" to hide the profits. The founders, of course, denied the whole thing, saying Stake was their own brainchild from 2017. While a New York judge dismissed the initial suit on jurisdictional grounds, it pulled back the curtain on just how much money this "startup" was actually making—billions in gross gaming revenue.
Why Ownership Matters Right Now
Stake isn't just a casino anymore. Through Easygo, Craven and Tehrani also own Kick.com, the streaming platform that’s been poaching talent from Twitch.
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When you own the casino and the platform where people watch others gamble at the casino, you’ve built a closed-loop money machine. This is why the ownership structure is so heavily scrutinized. Regulators in the UK and Australia have been poking around for years because it’s hard to tell where the "gaming" ends and the "streaming" begins.
In 2025, they even started moving into the "traditional" betting world, snapping up a 5% stake in PointsBet, a massive sportsbook. They are no longer just the "crypto guys." They are becoming the establishment.
Actionable Insights: What to Look For
If you're following the money, keep an eye on these three areas:
- Kick's Integration: Watch how much more "Stake-branded" Kick becomes. If they merge the accounts, the value of the parent company doubles overnight.
- The US Market: Stake.us is their "foot in the door." If federal laws in the US shift toward legalizing online crypto gambling, expect the parent company to go public or look for a massive acquisition.
- The Legal Battles: Keep tabs on the ongoing licensing changes in Curaçao. If the "grey market" becomes too expensive or regulated, the owners might move their headquarters to a new jurisdiction entirely.
The mystery of who owns Stake gambling isn't really a mystery if you look at the paperwork. It’s a two-man show run by Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani, supported by a global web of shell companies and high-priced celebrities. Just don't expect them to sit still—billionaires rarely do.