Aus Bookie Stake Donates A$1.3 Million to People of Ukraine

Last Updated on 14 June 2022

Stake.com, Australian gaming and sports betting provider, has donated A$1.3 million to help the Ukrainian people. In its announcement, the company said that it donated US$1 million worth of BTC towards humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.

The Twitter post the crypto bookie used to announce its donation featured a photo of the English Premier League game between Watford FC and Arsenal. Stake sponsors Watford FC, and, before the game started, fans held up yellow and blue cards to show their solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

In the post, Stake said that their hearts went out to the innocent people involved in the conflict, and hoped that their contribution would help the “brave and resilient” Ukrainians.

Stake Says Russian Bettors Can’t Access the Site

Despite sending 25.63 BTC to the people of Ukraine, Stake still accepts Russian bettors according to The Age and Herald. They both tried to access the betting site using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) where they set their location as Russia. They said they were successful in their attempts.

However, Stake said that wasn’t the case. The bookmaker claimed that Roskomnadzor, the communications regulator in Russia, prevented them from offering their services to Russians. So, the crypto betting site said it had “no active presence” in the country.

Stake admitted that the company markets its service in Russian, but that it was only one of many languages they used to do that, adding that there were lots of Russian-speaking bettors who were located outside the Russian Federation.

That said, Stake did not rule out changing its approach and actions, considering the “quickly changing political landscape”.

Focuses on International Markets

Stake is an Australian bookmaker and casino provider that operates from Melbourne but is licensed and regulated by the government of Curacao. That means that it cannot accept Australian customers, even those that use VPNs and register using fake identities.

As a result, the online wagering provider focuses on international betting markets, such as the UK one, where UK punters can use Stake’s sportsbook and play its online casino games.

In addition to partnering up with Watford FC, Stake has a sponsorship deal with global pop star Drake and is also the first-ever official betting partner of the UFC in Asia and Latin America.