Stake.com Announces UK Launch
Crypto betting platform Stake.com has officially launched in the UK, after securing its Gambling Commission license. UK sports fans can now enjoy the site’s array of betting and gaming options. As part of the global gambling firm’s operations in the UK, it has partnered with TGP Europe Limited. However, as crypto betting is not yet legal in the UK, customers will have to use fiat currency.
Crypto sponsors are on the rise in the world of UK football. ©Morthy Jameson/Pexels
New Site Unveiled
Leading gambling platform Stake.com is now officially available to customers in the UK. It has welcomed its latest market with a range of sports betting and casino products for players to enjoy. To facilitate its UK launch, Stake.com has partnered with TGP Europe, which holds a number of UK gambling licenses.
TGP Europe will power the betting platform’s sportsbook and gaming offerings. Also known as The Gaming Platform, it is experienced in running B2C gaming sites. The white label solutions provider offers leading sports betting software from SBTech and more than 400 unique casino games, including Evolution Gaming’s Live Dealer.
The partnership has enabled Stake.com’s latest foray into a new market is it continues to expand its operations worldwide. Announcing its new site for the UK, it has unveiled plans to launch unique and exclusive betting markets and propositions for its new customers. These will include stake offerings on esports, entertainment and political events.
Stake.uk.com has now gone live, and has already started offering its betting and gaming products to newly-signed up users. Dominic Rae, Sponsorships Manager for Stake.com, revealed what customers would be able to look forward to. A range of sportsbook markets are on offer, including odds coverage of betting events in esports.
A complete suite of responsible gambling tools is also provided to customers to ensure that playing on the site is always safe and fun. Stake.com has pledged to meet responsible gambling standards by making use of deposit limits, self-exclusion tools and timeouts.
To get the ball rolling, Stake.com is offering footie fans a “Stake X Watford First Goal Payout” promotion. It has agreed to pay out on all bets on a Watford victory if the team scores first in any game but fails to win. Fans of the Hornets can sign up to the promotion on the sportsbook’s website.
Global Sponsors
Since its 2017 launch, Stake.com has amassed fans all over the world, including in Canada, Brazil and Japan. The platform has made its name as the world’s biggest cryptocurrency sportsbook and casino platform. It boasts more than 500, 000 registered users globally, thanks to its high-profile sponsorship deals with top sporting talent.
To help establish its reputation in the UK ahead of the launch of its new platform, Stake.com signed a sponsorship deal with Watford FC for the 2021/22 season. As the Premier League club’s principal sponsor, its branding is featured on players’ shirts and around the stadium.
Earlier this month, Stake.com agreed to donate its ad space at the Vicarage Road stadium in support of Rainbow Laces, a campaign that promotes LGBTQ+ inclusion in sports. Its LED displays were given over to the Stonewall initiative for the entirety of Watford’s match against Chelsea.
While Stake.com’s sponsorship of Watford FC has helped to expose its brand to sports fans in the UK, it has also had an impact on betting fans worldwide. The Premier League is growing in popularity globally, thanks to its reputation is a world-class competition. In fact, it is the most watched football league in the world, broadcast to a potential audience of 7.4 billion people.
Stake.com is also the betting partner of the UFC in Latin America and Asia. It has partnered with the best sporting institutions and athletes, including fighters Israel Adesanya, Francis Ngannou, Marlon Vera and Alexa Grasso. The UFC is estimated to have around 625 million fans and is broadcast to a global TV audience of 900 million.
In June, Stake.com also announced that it had agreed to sponsor internationally renowned esports player Dendi. The Ukrainian Dota 2 player, who has been described as the “world’s most charismatic player”, is now a brand ambassador for Stake.com. The partnership will introduce a new range of esports fans to Stake.com’s platform.
Rise of Crypto
Stake.com has built its reputation as one of the largest cryptocurrency betting platforms in the world. However, as gambling with crypto is not currently legal in the UK, it will not be accepting crypto payments or transactions. It will process all UK payments in fiat currency, in line with the Gambling Commission’s regulations.
While crypto betting isn’t legal in the UK, British football’s interest in blockchain currencies is on the rise. A number of football clubs have started selling crypto fan tokens, which offer buyers perks like choosing the music to be played in stadiums. Clubs are making millions from these unregulated tokens, which have sparked controversy.
24 clubs across the five major European leagues have already launched or are considering launching fan tokens, including eight Premier League sides. Club-specific crypto is branded as a kind of token that fans are supposed to hold on to. However, as with any other cryptocurrency, evidence has found that fans are trading tokens to try and make money.
Manchester City’s tokens have generated some of the highest sales, but have dropped in value by 50% since their first day of trading. Some club tokens, like those of Inter Milan and Trabzonspor, have on the other hand grown in value. What concerns analysts is the volatility and lack of protections associated with these tokens.
Some clubs have also started to sell NFTs, unique units of data stored on blockchain. The uniqueness of NFTs makes them highly collectible, although they do not always hold their value. Manchester City sold two sets of NFTs for $80,000. Research conducted by crypto-analysts Protos showed that the value of TopShot NFTs, sold by the NBA, has dropped by 90%.
In October, the Gambling Commission issued a warning to the British public over fantasy football platform Sorare. The site offers digital football cards which can be traded and collected. The NFT cards are growing in popularity, with fans spending $142 on them since their launch in 2019.
The site does not have a gambling license, claiming that it does not need one as its products do not constitute gambling. The regulator is investigating the firm to establish whether or not it should have an operating license. Until then, users have been warned that the site does not provide the same player protections as licensed gambling sites.
