Stake Withdraws From UK Market Over Social Ads
Stake will exit the British market on March 11th after the UK Gambling Commission opened an investigation into the company’s social media advertising practices.
The biggest crypto casino in the world has recently been criticized for its advertising practices, which include meme farming on X. The UK Gambling Commission started an investigation after a video featuring an adult entertainment actress outside Nottingham Trent University that displayed Stake’s logo was circulated on social media.
A Mutually Agreed Departure
In a bid to prevent further action, TGP Europe, the white label operator of Stake, has confirmed the closure, although the UKGC had already announced it earlier in the month.
A Stake spokesperson confirmed: “Stake has made a strategic decision in mutual agreement with TGP Europe to exit white-label agreements and focus on securing local licenses through our in-house platform and operations, building upon our growth in key regulated markets such as our recent expansions into Italy and Brazil.”
TGP has now confirmed it will stop accepting new registrations on the UK site and remove all redirection links to the main Stake website.
The UKGC statement says: “When an operator leaves the British gambling market, we expect an orderly closure of its website to consumers in Great Britain, and this includes providing consumers with clear information on how to obtain their funds.”
How Will This Affect Stake?
Stake is the biggest crypto casino in the world by far, and in many ways it has mastered the art of social media advertising. Influencer deals with Drake, UFC star Israel Adesanya and now Brazilian racing legend Emerson Fittipaldi have proven the power of social media, but there have been accusations of late that Stake is going too far by using popular meme accounts to repost viral content with the casino logo.
The UK gambling market is the biggest in Europe, with revenues of $11-14 billion. That’s not far behind the US market, which still leads with $18-19 billion despite online casinos being banned in all but a handful of states. When it comes to online revenue, the UK edges out the US market with $12.5 billion compared to $11 billion.
Losing the UK market is a significant blow, but it’s unlikely to threaten Stake’s position as the number one crypto casino. It can now focus its efforts on the Brazilian market and other emerging markets like Italy, but it will be interesting to see the effects on revenues and if this gives the likes of Roobet, Shuffle, BC.Game and more the chance to grab some market share.
BC.Game recently closed its UK operation due to licensing issues, which have since been resolved, and the impact was substantial.
