Celebrating 9 Years of Stake - Biggest Games, Wins & Bonuses

Celebrating 9 years of Stake: our story, our milestones and how we're celebrating

Stake turns 9 years old this August, with nearly a decade of operating as one of the biggest and most popular online gambling platforms. This month is a very special occasion for us, as we celebrate a major milestone for our betting and casino gaming platform.

To celebrate this milestone, we’re holding a special event, headlined by none other than Drake, and live-streamed on Kick. What’s more, Stake and Drake have teamed up to give away over $1 million in prizes to be enjoyed at Stake Casino and Stake Sportsbook. Tune in to win as this article looks back at some of the moments that shaped the past year before showing how we’re celebrating.

Nine years of Stake - the story so far

Stake launched in 2017, allowing players to enjoy games and sports betting using popular cryptocurrencies. Within just a few years, it had become one of the world’s largest crypto casino and betting platforms, with a growing library of casino games and a huge range of betting options.

Stake’s success is built on its focus on the user experience, while also delivering provably fair original games and partnering with top game providers. Over the years, our games library, sportsbook and promotions have all helped it to build a global community of not just players but now even game developers and creators.

A landmark year - Stake's biggest milestones of the past 12 months

In 2026, Stake delivered a whole host of amazing developments and saw lots of exciting changes, including new games, partnerships and opportunities. We built our own Esports arenas to deepen our connection to the Esports scene, launching the Stake Ranked CS2 and Stake Pulse series. The LAN Finals of Stake Ranked Episode 3 were held in Barcelona this summer while Beat I of Stake Pulse had just been completed in Stockholm during Stake’s birthday week. With these events, we went from sponsoring Esports to actively producing it, and there are now more CS2 betting options on Stake than ever.

Our Esports betting partner, Team Vitality, made history this year, achieving a 2nd successive CS2 Major. Not only that, but they also became the first team in history to win back-to-back ESL Grand Slams. ropz officially became the first player to win 3 Grand Slams in his career. We also welcomed Astralis to the Stake family, and you can read our exclusive interview with their new head coach, NEO.

The Stake team also grew across all of our favourite sports. We welcomed football icons like Chelsea legend Eden Hazard, Real Madrid legend Iker Casillas and Manchester City legend Kun Aguero to the fold. We are continuing our support in the octagon as an official betting partner of the UFC, and this year new Stake-sponsored fighters Tracy Cortez, Caio Borralho and Merab Dvalishvili joined Alex Pereira, Valentina Shevchenko and Alexandre Pantoja. We've also ventured into new frontiers in actions sports, teaming up with the X Games and welcoming our first skateboarding ambassadors, Nyjah Huston and Chris Joslin!

This year, we’ve added several professional sports teams to the Stake family. In the world of football, we’re continuing as an official partner of Premier League side Everton. Plus, we’ve established partnerships with Colombian side Fortaleza FC, Peruvian side FBC Melgar and Nigerian side Enyimba Football Club. Not only that, but we’re excited to continue our partnership with cricket franchise Trinbago Knight Riders.

It’s been a big year for games too, with 5 new Stake Originals joining the family. Players can now enjoy the excitement of Packs, Chicken, Tarot, Moles, and Drill, which offer new ways to play. In addition, our list of Only on Stake exclusives has grown.

This year also saw a massive growth of Stake Engine games, community forum discussion, and Discord groups! The innovative game engine has given players and creators new ways to build, play and share exciting games.

How we're celebrating Stake's 9th birthday

With such a big occasion on the horizon, we had to pull out all the stops here at Stake. We’ll be celebrating 9 years in style, and you’re invited! Drake will be headlining the event live-streamed on Kick, and we’re giving away over $1 million. Link your Kick account to your Stake account and tune in to be in with a chance of winning Stake bonus drops during the event. Before Drake goes live on 8th Aug, 9pm ET / 9th Aug, 11:00am AEST to celebrate Stake's 9th, make sure you read the Ts&Cs of the giveaway.

Throughout August, keep a close eye on the promotions page and check in with your VIP host from the VIP Club to discover the latest offers.

Looking for a birthday bonus? Here's how Stake celebrates you too

If you searched for “Stake birthday”, you might be looking for a birthday bonus of your own, and that’s a fair question. While Stake’s birthday is a celebration for the platform, loyal players can also enjoy tailored perks through our VIP Club, including a VIP host alongside ongoing reload bonuses, regular rakeback. Be sure to keep an eye on our promotions page during this exciting week for current offers and even more special birthday promotions that we'll be rolling out throughout the event!

Here's to year ten - what's coming next

As we pass the milestone and head towards the next, there are lots of major events and developments at Stake to look forward to. This summer saw the closing stages of the thrilling 2026 international football tournament, and in August, the new European club football season will start.

The first edition of the Stake Pulse tournament runs through the birthday week, and there are lots of Stake Ranked CS2 LAN tournaments to look forward to this year. The latest CS2 betting odds are live now, and you can also read our Stake Ranked picks for up-to-date predictions.

August will also feature some of the biggest Esports tournaments, as teams from all over the world compete for massive prize pools at the Esports World Cup. You can bet on all the action, including Dota 2, Rainbow Six Siege, Call of Duty and more.

There are lots of major sporting events to look forward to as well. We’ll see Ian Machado Garry compete for the welterweight belt against Islam Makhachev at UFC 330 on 15 August. Our UFC picks page shares predictions for every fight on the card. Meanwhile, the second half of the F1 season gets underway on 21 August for the Dutch Grand Prix. Our F1 picks have all the analysis you need when making your F1 bets. At the end of August, the US Open gets underway as the stars of men’s and women’s tennis compete in this Grand Slam.

After 9 amazing years, we have to share our thanks with you, the players. We couldn’t have done it without you, and we hope you continue enjoying everything we do. Make sure you join us and Drake for the birthday celebration event, and play responsibly to stay Stake Smart.