Stake allowed my kid to gamble

Hi everyone,

I’m reaching out here hoping to get some advice or insights from anyone who might have experience with a situation like this.

A few months ago, I discovered that my underage child had managed to create two accounts on Stake.com—a gambling platform—and lost over $1 million of our family’s cryptocurrency. This money came from our savings, which we stored in crypto.

Here's the frustrating part: Stake.com is supposed to have measures in place to prevent minors from accessing their platform, but they allowed my child to register, deposit funds, and gamble for months. To make matters worse, my child even had a VIP host on the platform, who provided bonuses and incentives to keep them playing. The host lives in the U.S., a restricted region, yet was still allowed to access and work with the site.

I’ve tried everything I can think of to resolve this with Stake.com:

I’ve emailed their compliance team multiple times, even sending a signed Power of Attorney as they requested, but I haven’t received any response.

I’ve asked for information about their license and regulatory contacts, but they’ve ignored me.

I’ve even proposed a partial refund of 75% of the deposited amount to acknowledge some responsibility, but they refuse to engage in any meaningful communication.

This whole experience has been emotionally and financially devastating for my family. We needed these funds for a family emergency, but when we tried to access them, we discovered they were gone.

Has anyone else faced a situation like this? Is there a way to hold Stake.com accountable for allowing a minor to gamble on their platform? I’m also curious if there are other forums, organizations, or regulatory bodies I should contact to push this forward.

I would greatly appreciate any advice or suggestions on what to do next.

Thanks in advance!

Hello,

I imagine this must be a very frustrating situation, and I won't pretend I have a solution available. Regrettably, the circumstances appear to be identical to the previous instance in which you lodged a complaint against a different casino. That must be horrible...

If the casino's terms explicitly prohibit underagers from playing, the issue arises from the deliberate act of a child impersonating an adult to deceive the casino. My logic tells me the casino is not accountable for such attempts. According to the rules, the verification of casino accounts typically occurs only when the player initiates the withdrawal request. Since the crypto was used, it looks like a well-thought-out move to avoid raising suspicions. Crypto transactions are almost anonymous. 🙁

I'm really sorry, but this is how things work in casinos.

Has your son ever requested withdrawal, please? Of course, there's no obligation to reply.

I truly feel your pain, and I'm sorry we can't help you resolve the matter.

We usually recommend contacting your bank directly to investigate unauthorized transactions and pursue recovery options. However, I fear the bank would not provide much assistance in cases involving the use of cryptocurrency.