The private chat messages from inside an Australian billionaire’s ‘money machine’

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At 28, Edward Craven has built Stake.com into one of the world’s biggest gambling enterprises. But there is another side to its hot streak.

When Australia’s youngest billionaire posted a “year in review” message to his blog two days before Christmas, he had quite a bit to cover.profiling his online gambling platform, Stake. A lowlight: North Korean hackers raiding Stake in a multimillion-dollar theft under investigation by the FBI.

According to chat messages tendered in one overseas court case, a Stake employee told a player who had admitted to betting on fixed matches that he could do a “f-ckkkk load of dodgy betting” before getting in trouble.The site is also facing a legal claim, arguing that Stake has failed to compensate a series of players, who allege their gambling addictions were exploited with bonuses and VIP attention.

Curacao, with its relatively loose regulation and oversight, has become a popular destination for online casino operators. Kahlil Philander, an assistant professor at Washington State University who has studied the crypto gambling universe, says providing advice on how to avoid service provider blocks was highly concerning.

Stake’s spokeswoman said the French, Spanish and Danish findings – from 2021, 2022 and 2023 – were “historical”. According to a demand letter his lawyer sent to Stake, Fred signed up to the site in February 2022 using his real name, a fake address and a virtual private network, an app that allowed him to set his location to countries outside the UK.

“Is there anything you guys can do to help reimburse some of my losses. Any help would be greatly appreciated as this has got out of control.”A Stake staff member replied: “Hey there. :) I can offer you a one-time bonus just let me know which coin suits you the most. :).” Last week, Bijkerk launched a legal petition in a Curacao court, arguing Stake has failed to pay compensation claims from five of his clients, including Fred, who have alleged failures of responsible gambling practices by Stake.

Bijkerk says any suggestion he has purchased claims is “nonsense” and confirmed that none of the five players’ matters had been bought or sold.One of the five players is a 31-year-old from Denmark, who says he has contemplated suicide after heavy sports betting losses on Stake through 2021 and 2022. He alleges that after his betting increased he was introduced to a VIP host named Jelena, who chatted with him over Telegram in unfailingly cheerful messages that are attached to his legal letter. Sometimes, she would sign off with a four-leaf clover emoji.After he told her he had lost “way more” than his budget and wanted to quit, Jelena replied saying Stake took problem gambling very seriously and provided directions about how to self-exclude.

 

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