Stake Casino - Player highlights Stake.com's negligence in responsible gambling.

Hello,

I am filing a formal complaint regarding Stake.com's failure to enforce responsible gambling policies, despite my repeated attempts to self-exclude and my significant gambling losses.

It is clear that Stake.com failed to act appropriately in response to my gambling behavior, and this needs to be addressed.

Backstory: My Experience with Stake.com

I first used Stake.com in February 2020 after being encouraged by an affiliate. Initially, I didn’t foresee the toll gambling would take on my life, but I soon became a big money loser, with losses amounting to millions. Stake.com knew of this and offered me a VIP deal, which included 25% cashback on losses. This cashback kept me playing, but the losses continued.

After losing over 3 BTC, 460,000 XRP, 614 ETH, and 114 LTC, I decided to permanently self-exclude from my main account. However, instead of offering intervention, I opened a new account. Since it was new, I reached out to my VIP manager, Eddie, who transferred my VIP benefits to the new account. Despite mentioning my self-exclusion in our Telegram chat, it was business as usual, and the gambling continued.

This cycle repeated over the years: I self-excluded, opened a new account, and Eddie would transfer my benefits without question. Later in 2024, when I was assigned a new VIP manager, my VIP benefits were transferred again. Despite clear signs of addiction of me losing high 6 figures in less than an hour, no one from Stake questioned my return or offered help.

Multiple Self-Exclusions Without Follow-Up

I emailed Stake to request temporary self-exclusions due to losing large amounts of money. I requested self-exclusions over five times on the same account, and each time, they were honored. However, once the exclusion expired, no one reached out to check on my well-being. I immediately went back to gambling, losing six figures.

The frequency of my self-exclusions, combined with my betting patterns (sessions under 10 minutes), deposit history, and chat logs with Eddie, should have been a red flag. Despite this, no one followed up or offered intervention. Instead of prioritizing my well-being, Stake allowed me to continue gambling, creating new accounts, and losing more money.

Reloads and Follow-Up Offers

Whenever my reloads expired, VIP manager sent me follow-up messages offering new reloads, which often happened after I had stayed away from gambling and not used Stake in a good while and not requested any bonuses myself. These offers made it hard to resist, and I often returned to gambling, only to fall into the same cycle. This predatory behavior showed that Stake wasn’t prioritizing my well-being and clearly looking to re-engage me into gambling on Stake.

It Would Be Hard for Eddie Not to Notice the Situation;

While I can’t say with certainty that Eddie knew of my addiction, it would have been impossible for him not to notice the repeated behavior. I consistently reached out for cashback, openly discussed my losses, and made it clear that I was self-excluding and self-excluded at times when I received Reload offers while a exclusion was active, only to return and ask for the same treatment on a new account.

In our communications, I mentioned my significant losses, self-exclusion attempts, and new accounts. Eddie, as the owner of Stake.com, should have clearly noticed these red flags and taken action.

Stake.com must take responsibility for failing to enforce responsible gambling policies. I repeatedly self-excluded due to my gambling losses, and the frequency of these exclusions should have been an obvious sign of a problem. Despite Eddie’s awareness of my behavior, no intervention was offered, and Stake allowed me to continue gambling.

While I understand that recovering the full amount may not be feasible, I believe compensation for the funds I lost due to Stake’s negligence is fair. Stake failed to intervene when clear signs of addiction were present, and my repeated self-exclusions were largely ignored. Instead of protecting me, Stake enabled me to continue playing, contributing to further harm.

I urge Stake.com to review their responsible gambling policies, especially how they handle repeated self-exclusions and the transfer of VIP benefits. Players showing signs of addiction, like frequent self-exclusions, should be flagged and actively supported through intervention, not left to manage on their own. Gambling limits should be part of a broader effort to protect players, not just a tool for self-management.

Dear Wonders,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m very sorry to hear about your negative experience. First, I must emphasize that when evaluating self-exclusion requests, it's important for us that players follow a few simple steps to ensure a successful outcome:

• Send your request to the correct email address provided in the general terms and conditions of the casino.
• If your email goes unanswered, utilize other communication channels to address your concerns or send multiple emails.
• Clearly state you wish to have your account self-excluded due to gambling addiction/problem.

Could you please advise if you've ever clearly informed the casino about your gambling problem? If there is a message in which you informed the casino you struggle with gambling, please forward it to me. My email address is kristina.s@casino.guru.

Thank you very much in advance.

Best regards,

Kristina

Due to the increased volume of complaints during this time of year, we kindly request your patience while awaiting our responses. We aim to publish each complaint within 48 hours of submission but reserve up to 7 days to reply to any subsequent comments. Additionally, please be aware that it might take a bit longer for your complaint to be assigned to a resolver, as we are currently managing over 900 complaints.

Your understanding is greatly appreciated. Wishing you a delightful holiday season, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Yes.

I've gone ahead and sent you a email.