Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani, founders of Stake.com, have increased their ownership in Australian online bookmaker PointsBet. The duo announced to the Australia Securities Exchange (ASX) last Friday that they had increased their PointsBet holdings to 16 million shares, or over 5% of the outstanding shares of the bookmaker, Australian Financial Review reported. Their share stood at 4.2% at the end of December.
The Stake.com founders have been building their PointsBet standing with the help of gaming software provider Easygo Gaming, which has its headquarters in Melbourne. A spokesman for Easygo Gaming told AFR that the decision to invest in Pointsbet reflected its confidence in the bookmaker’s long-term strategy and improved trading performance.
“Our investment portfolio at Easygo extends well beyond gaming and includes a range of entertainment, media, wagering, and technology companies. We will continue to expand our investment portfolio and will look for further opportunities within the global media and entertainment system,” the spokesman told the publication.
Stake.com is a gray-market operator, which means that while not legally licensed and regulated to the same extent as a white-market equivalent, it is safer for customers than a black-market counterpart.
Craven and Tehrani initiated their PointsBet stake to better profit on more traditional types of wagering, although it is not clear whether the two intend to acquire PointsBet entirely. According to AffPapa, rumors of a consolidation involving the Australian bookmaker have been around for some time. Last year, it sold its US operations to Fanatics for $225 million.
PointsBet foreshadowed the sale by informing investors that it was failing to gain credible market share in the United States and that it may not have the financial means to compete in this market in the long run.
However, it continued to generate income in its native market and maintained its Canadian operations, which are also thought to be a potentially significant asset.
Craven and Tehrani first signaled their intentions to diversify assets and enter the legal Australian gambling market in 2022. Despite discussions with the Northern Territory Racing Commission, the pair never formally applied for a wagering license.
They also trademarked the Stake Gaming brand, which resulted in a Federal Court case by a share trading platform with the same name. Securing a wagering license often requires extensive probity checks on the business and its shareholders.
Stake.com was established in 2017 and has grown into one of the world’s largest online casinos, processing hundreds of billions of bets on sports, virtual table games, and online slot machines. In 2022, Stake.com signed hip-hop star Drake as a brand ambassador. In recent times, Kick has signed sponsorship deals with Alfa Romeo’s F1 team and the English Premier League’s Everton Football Club.
Stake.com’s global business is registered in Curacao and runs from Melbourne. However, Australians cannot legally play any of Stake.com’s games because customers bet with cryptocurrency.
