Alfa Romeo F1 Team driver Valtteri Bottas. Source: Sipa USA Simon Galloway/Motorsport Images
Melbourne-founded cryptocurrency casino Stake.com is one of the biggest sponsors in Formula 1, having recently penned a deal with the Alfa Romeo F1 team reportedly worth $140 million.
The secretive enterprise is also among the most significant startups to emerge from Australia in years, with an estimated value of $2 billion.
Yet rev-heads watching this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix could miss the link between Stake.com (not to be confused with share trading platform Stake) and the long-running racing team.
Despite shelling out for naming rights, Stake.com branding is unlikely to take a prime position on the team’s cars or uniforms in the next few days.
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The decision not to highlight Stake.com in the company’s own backyard mirrors the restrictions facing the crypto casino itself.
Extensive reporting has linked the hush-hush firm and its young co-founders Eddie Craven and Bijan Tehrani to Melbourne startup Easygo, but Stake.com cannot offer its lucrative games to Australian gamblers.
The company is incorporated in the Caribbean island nation of Curaçao, allowing it to offer its platform to punters worldwide.
At home, Australian legislation requires that online gambling providers and bookmakers offering their services on-shore must be registered domestically, with approval of a state or territory gaming authority.
Australian bettors who try to access Stake.com are met with a simple message: “Due to our gaming license, we cannot accept players from Australia,” it says.
However, some commercial ties between Alfa Romeo F1 team and the Stake.com founders will remain on display through the weekend.
When Alfa Romeo F1 Team driver and 10-time race winner Valtteri Bottas this week showed off his Australian Grand Prix helmet, the focus was on its artwork, hand-painted by Dja Dja Wurrung artist Ricky Kildea.
Less dazzling was the design of the chin of the helmet.
In previous races this season, that helmet real estate was reserved for Stake.com advertising.
This time around, it is emblazoned with the logo of streaming platform Kick.
Alfa Romeo F1 Team announced a “major partnership” with Kick in late January, describing the platform as “an innovative and community-driven live streaming platform built for and targeting a global audience.”
A Crikey investigation exposed ties between Craven and Kick this month, and new details about the streaming service, exposed when it launched on the Apple App Store this week, revealed business ties to Easygo Entertainment Pty Ltd.
Easygo is directed by Tehrani and a holding company owned by Craven, Crikey reports.
The minimisation of Stake.com branding is notable, but not unusual by F1 standards: swapping advertisers through the season is no oddity in Formula 1, as the sport and its teams conform to the rules and regulations of the nation hosting each race.
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