Is Stake legit?

Stake launched in 2017 and is operated by Medium Rare N.V., the company named on its Curaçao licence. Its sponsorships include Everton, UFC and Drake. Stake.us, a US sweepstakes product, is separate and not covered here.

We checked on 14 September 2026 against the Curaçao Gaming Authority register. Licence OGL/2024/1451/0918 (Medium Rare N.V.) was issued on 9 December 2025 with a term ending on 9 June 2026; the register edition of 10 September 2026 shows the renewal as 'Assessment in progress'. That is renewal pending: not a revocation, but not a confirmed active term.

The live footer showed neither the licence number nor a CGA seal; we took the number from an archived copy of the Terms dated 10 September 2026. Curaçao's regime, reformed in December 2024, sits above Anjouan but well below the UKGC or MGA.

No other brand comes close: an estimated $22.1 billion in tracked deposits over 12 months (lower bound), roughly half of all on-chain casino deposits recorded by Tanzanite Terminal. Traffic figures understate its reach because mirror domains such as stake.bet are not counted.

Three events are documented by primary sources. Our sources contain no unpaid-winnings case against Stake.

• 4 September 2023: hot-wallet hack of about $41 million, attributed by the FBI to the Lazarus Group. Player balances were covered by the operator.
• March 2025: Stake left the UK market after a UK Gambling Commission investigation into social-media advertising.
• Late December 2025: US lawsuits, including a RICO class action in the Eastern District of Virginia, target Stake.us, the separate sweepstakes product.

• Search the CGA register for OGL/2024/1451/0918; the renewal could go either way.
• On a mirror domain, confirm the terms name Medium Rare N.V.
• Stake publishes no verifiable proof of reserves; claims otherwise appear only in affiliate articles.
• Read the verification terms: identity checks triggered only at large withdrawals are the most common complaint pattern.