Jump to content

Ed Craven

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Edward Craven
Born1996 (age 28–29)
NationalityAustralian
OccupationBusinessman
Known forCo-founder of online casino Stake.com and live-streaming platform Kick

Edward Craven (born 1996) is an Australian billionaire entrepreneur[1] known as the co-founder of the online casino Stake.com and the live-streaming platform Kick.[2][3][4] Stake.com has grown into a global gambling platform, with sponsorships in sports and endorsements from public figures such as musician Drake. Craven also streams on Kick, which was launched as an alternative to Twitch, focusing on creator-friendly revenue sharing.[5][6]

Early life

[edit]

Craven was born in 1996. His father, Jamie Craven, was banned from working in the financial services industry and jailed for 6 months in the 1980s over the collapse of investment company Spedley Securities.[7][8] Little is publicly known about Craven's upbringing or education, but he developed an early interest in technology, online gaming, and cryptocurrencies.[9] During his teenage years, he became active in online communities centered around virtual games and gambling, particularly within the game RuneScape.[10]

Craven plays online games and livestreams his gameplay on Kick. He has streamed alongside celebrities including Drake.[11]

Career

[edit]

Pre-Stake

[edit]

After experimenting together with Bijan Tehrani with virtual gambling in RuneScape, Craven and Tehrani created Primedice, a cryptocurrency-based online dice game in 2013.[12] In 2016, they launched Easygo, a company specializing in online casino games.[13]

Stake.com

[edit]

In 2017 the Stake.com brand debuted, operating through a license in Curaçao. The company maintains offices in Serbia, Australia, and Cyprus. It became one of the world's largest gambling companies.[14]

Stake.com expanded to the UK in December 2021 through a partnership with TGP Europe. It is the main shirt sponsor for Everton FC and Watford FC, and also backs the Sauber Formula One team.[15][16]

From 2022, Canadian musician Drake was paid $100 million annually to endorse Stake on social media.[17][18]

In September 2023, the FBI confirmed that the Lazarus Group, a North Korean cybercrime organization, was responsible for stealing approximately $41 million in cryptocurrency from Stake.com. This theft is part of a broader pattern of cyberattacks attributed to the Lazarus Group, which has been linked to over $300 million in cryptocurrency thefts in 2023 alone.[19][20]

In May 2024, Ed Craven and his business partner, Bijan Tehrani, increased their stake in ASX-listed bookmaker PointsBet to over 5% through their company, Easygo Gaming.[21][22] In early 2024, Stake, co-founded by Ed Craven, partnered with Canberra-based Racing and Sports Technology to begin offering horse racing bets.[23]

In June 2024, Ed Craven's company Easygo Solutions began offering sign-on bonuses of up to $100,000 to attract senior engineering talent. The initiative aims to recruit professionals from major tech firms such as Atlassian, Canva, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Xero, and support the company's continued growth across its platforms, including Stake.com and Kick.[24][25][26]

In August 2024, Stake.com expanded into the Italian market by acquiring Baldo Line SRL, the operator of Idealbet.it, thereby enhancing its European presence.[27]

In March 2025, Ed Craven announced a strategic shift for Stake, transitioning from a cryptocurrency-exclusive platform to accepting 70% of transactions in traditional fiat currency.[28]

In February 2024, Stake became a sponsor of Formula 1 by rebranding the Sauber team as the "Stake F1 Team."[29][30]

Kick

[edit]
Main article: Kick (service)

Launched in 2022 by Craven and his business partner, Bijan Tehrani, Kick is intended to compete with Amazon's Twitch as an online live-streaming platform.[31] The platform provides an alternative to the popular streaming service Twitch, as it provides a 95-5% split of revenues to content creators.[32]

Kick's sponsorships include the Alfa Romeo F1 Team and Everton Football Club.[4]

In May 2024, Ed Craven addressed concerns from streamers about the platform's moderation, noting that Kick is continuously working to balance content regulation and community feedback.[33][34]

In October 2024, Ed Craven debuted on the Australian Financial Review's Young Rich List, ranking 68th with a net worth of $2.01 billion.[35]

At the same time, Forbes Australia highlighted Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani's $5.6 billion fortune, built through their ventures in online gaming with Stake.com and the live-streaming platform Kick.[36]

Investments in real estate

[edit]

In 2022, Craven purchased one of Melbourne's most expensive homes on St Georges Road in the prestigious suburb of Toorak for $80 million, setting a record for the area.​ He plans to construct a new luxury residence valued at approximately $150 million. Architect Paul Conrad noted that the design would be more akin to architectural styles from the USA and UK than typical local.[37][38]

Personal life

[edit]

Craven resides in Melbourne. In 2022 he purchased the most expensive house in Toorak, Victoria.[39]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Seeto, Tamika (21 June 2024). "Wild details revealed as 28-year-old builds Australia's most expensive home". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  2. ^ Begley, Patrick (21 February 2024). "The private chat messages from inside an Australian billionaire's 'money machine'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  3. ^ Bucci, Nino (16 August 2022). "High stakes: the cryptocurrency casino king who bought the most expensive house in Victoria". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Rich Lister accused of encouraging 'incredibly inappropriate' behaviour". Australian Financial Review. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  5. ^ Staff, Matt Craig, Forbes (9 June 2024). "These entrepreneurs went all in on a crypto casino - and became billionaires". Forbes Australia. Retrieved 28 May 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "The real humans at Kick striving to make a real difference". Dexerto. 3 October 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  7. ^ Danckert, Sarah. "The secret Australian origins of the world's biggest crypto casino".
  8. ^ Macken, Lucy (10 April 2024). "Crypto casino billionaire Ed Craven's dad buys trophy beach house for $16m cash". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  9. ^ Barnes, Oliver; Chipolina, Scott (28 March 2023). "Stake.com: the Aussie gambling minnow that made it big on crypto". Financial Times. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  10. ^ Malvin (21 February 2025). "Ed Craven's Journey: From RuneScape to Kick and Stake". Inspirepreneur. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  11. ^ "Drake and crypto betting site Stake officially announce partnership: 'It was inevitable'". USA Today. 4 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Stake.com: the Aussie gambling minnow that made it big on crypto". www.ft.com. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  13. ^ "The secret Australian origins of the world's biggest crypto casino". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 December 2021.
  14. ^ "No room at the inn for Stake.com crypto billionaires". theaustralian.
  15. ^ "Alfa Romeo F1 team announce co-title partnership with Stake". Reuters. 27 January 2023.
  16. ^ "Everton FC - News, pictures and video". The Mirror US. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  17. ^ "Stake.com: the Aussie gambling minnow that made it big on crypto". www.ft.com. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  18. ^ Brown, Preezy (2 March 2022). "Drake Partners With Online Platform Stake For Live Betting Event". VIBE. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  19. ^ "Australian billionaire Ed Craven on what keeps him ambitious". The Australian. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  20. ^ "FBI Identifies Lazarus Group Cyber Actors as Responsible for Theft of $41 Million from Stakecom". FBI. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  21. ^ "Stake.com billionaires buy more of local bookie Pointsbet". Australian Financial Review. 31 May 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  22. ^ "PointsBet shares surge on talk offer is pending for the online bookmaker". The Weekly Times. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  23. ^ "Billionaire-backed Stake.com to take horse racing bets after deal with Racing and Sports Technology". The Australian. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  24. ^ Thomsen, Simon (20 June 2024). "Crypto gaming billionaire Ed Craven dangles $100,000 sign-on carrots to lure engineers away from Canva, Atlassian and Australia's top tech companies". Startup Daily. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  25. ^ "Aussie company offers $100k starting bonus". news. Archived from the original on 18 June 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  26. ^ "Stake.com co-founder Edward Craven's Easygo Solutions technology firm posts $500m profits". Herald Sun. 28 May 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  27. ^ "Italy move ideal for ambitious Aussie-owned Stake.com". The Straight. 1 August 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  28. ^ "Australian billionaire Ed Craven on what keeps him ambitious". The Australian. 28 May 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  29. ^ Evans, Jake (6 February 2024). "As it happened: Stake F1 Team's extravagant unveiling party". NEXT.io. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  30. ^ "Crypto billionaires Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani secure stake in Formula One team Sauber". Herald Sun. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  31. ^ "Top Twitch creator endorses platform connected to crypto gambling site". The Washington Post.
  32. ^ D'Anastasio, Cecilia (3 March 2023). "Twitch's New Streaming Rival Kick Tests Waters of Lighter Moderation". Bloomberg. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  33. ^ "Kick streamers say moderation is worse than Twitch as CEO asks if it's too harsh". Dexerto. 22 May 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  34. ^ "The real humans at Kick striving to make a real difference". Dexerto. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  35. ^ Thompson, Sarah (16 October 2024). "The 10 richest young Australians revealed". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  36. ^ "Ed Craven & the untold story of Stake: Inside the $5.6 billion rise of crypto's biggest high rollers". Forbes Australia. 24 February 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  37. ^ "Owner of $80m Toorak mansion is planning a $150m property". Australian Financial Review. 16 August 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  38. ^ Field, Shivaune (17 September 2024). "How Ed Craven is changing Australia's 'trophy home' real estate". Forbes Australia. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  39. ^ Bucci, Nino (16 August 2022). "High stakes: the cryptocurrency casino king who bought the most expensive house in Victoria". The Guardian.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ed_Craven&oldid=1292668686"