Stake subject to illegal gambling lawsuit in Illinois

Led by Illinois resident Brayden Urdan, this latest suit alleges that casino operator Stake’s US social casino platform is operating illegal gambling in the state of Illinois.  

More specifically, Urdan alleges that Stake.us intentionally utilizes a dual currency system to circumvent gambling laws within the state that have prevented its previous market entry attempts. Indeed, the Stake.us platform advertises that its games do not provide real money gambling services – allowing the platform to be registered within the state as a regulated social casino business. 

However, as highlighted within this lawsuit, Stake.us yields two accessible currencies for its players. The first is the ‘Gold Coin’ casino currency which has no real monetary value and can only be used for social and entertainment purposes. The second is ‘Stake Cash,’ which holds a 1:1 exchange rate with the US dollar, and can be exchanged for real money.  

As part of the platform’s offerings, Stake Cash is offered as part of a bonus token for Gold Coin purchases but, as previously mentioned, can be exchanged for real money – as well as utilized for gambling services on the platform. Herein lies the basis of the suit’s argument, that the Stake.us platform – operated by Stake – has intentionally created misleading gameplay operations and is subsequently conducting illegal gambling in Illinois.  

Further, the lawsuit provides visual aids that demonstrate the near identical layout of Stake.us to Stake.com – Stake’s regulated online casino operation outside of the US market. Now, Plaintiff Urdan is seeking to recover funds lost by alleged victims, as well as looking to remove any proven illegal operations from the state’s market. Stake has not yet issued a response to the allegations.  

Good to know: This latest suit comes closely following a similar complaint filed against the company in California  

Elsewhere, in February, Stake was ordered to leave the UK market following a social media post featuring an adult actress outside of Nottingham Trent University, in which the company’s logo was also displayed.  

Over the past 12 months, Stake’s operations have begun to proliferate within the LatAm market as the company entered both Colombia and Peru last summer. More recently, the operator partnered with Kambi in the Brazilian market.  

Will Underwood

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