The world‘s largest cryptocurrency casino‘s secret Australian origins

<p>A thriving Australian start-up is discreetly conducting business in a small, low-key office on Collins Street in the heart of Melbourne's CBD.</p> <p>On the surface, the Easygo Gaming crew appears to be a standard collection of video game creators living the start-up dream. Their Instagram page features team meals and an in-house barista at their Royal Bank Chambers headquarters, as well as relaxed boat excursions for special occasions and spin-the-wheel games with rewards like iPhones for staff.</p> <p>However, underneath the innocent images is a sinister mystery.</p> <p>The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald can reveal that the owners of Easygo are also responsible for what is thought to be the world's largest online bitcoin casino, Stake.com - better known as the shirt sponsor of UK Premier League team Watford.</p> <p>Stake.com has processed tens of billions of wagers on sports, slots, and casino table games in a matter of years. Industry analysts place the operation's value at a modest $1 billion.</p> <p>The fact that Stake.com is being directed from Australia has alarmed anti-gambling advocates, who see it as another disturbing illustration of how deeply ingrained gaming is in the national mentality. It has attracted the attention of anti-money laundering experts and anxieties among participants in Australia's $25 billion-a-year wagering industry, who fear the operation might someday threaten their operations.</p> <p>The Age and Herald's six-month investigation discovered that Stake.com (not to be confused with the low-cost share trading site Stake) was founded by Easygo shareholder Edward 'Ed' Craven, 26, in 2017 while he was working in Easygo's Melbourne headquarters with business partner Bijan Tehrani, 28.</p> <p>"If America has a blind spot, it is on weapons; the rest of the world looks at us and says we have a gambling problem. It has fully ensnared us. Thus, this business serves as another illustration."</p> <p>Tim Costello, an anti-gambling advocate</p> <p>Despite the fact that Stake.com se