Stake’s owner sued for enabling a 17-year-old’s gambling addiction and bypassing self-exclusion

A Swedish player named Chris has filed a lawsuit against Stake co-owner Ed Craven, demanding the return of $1.5 million lost on the platform between 2020 and 2024. Craven first contacted Chris in the summer of 2020, when the player was 17 years old. By that time, Chris had already lost more than $150,000 in a few months and received a special VIP bonus personally from Craven. In October 2020, Chris told Craven he had lost €2.3 million on Bitcasino.

Chat logs from 2020–2024 published by ABC show that in 2021 Chris attempted to self-exclude and later asked Craven to help him bypass the block. Craven initially discouraged the idea, but soon approved VIP status on a new account supposedly belonging to Chris’s “friend.” In total, Chris created seven accounts, each receiving VIP privileges personally granted by Craven. In November 2024, Chris messaged Craven saying he lost $700,000 playing blackjack and asked to have a quarter of the money refunded.

Stake’s lawyers responded that Chris is using “gambling addiction” as an excuse to recover his losses, claiming his deposit pattern showed no signs of compulsive behavior.

Craven also told Chris directly that slots are “designed to f*** players” and that it is extremely difficult to profit from them.

A Highly Sensitive Case with Long-Term Reputational Risks

This case puts Stake and Ed Craven in an exceptionally delicate position. Even if the lawsuit ultimately fails, the allegations strike at the core of the industry’s most sensitive issues — underage gambling, VIP targeting, and bypassing self-exclusion systems. Such claims are taken very seriously by courts and regulators, and the legal process could drag on for years as both sides dispute evidence, intent, and responsibility. While Stake’s lawyers argue that Chris is exploiting addiction claims to recover losses, the published messages paint a far more complicated picture. Regardless of the final outcome, the reputational damage is already significant, and the case may prompt renewed scrutiny of VIP practices across the crypto-casino sector.