Stake.com Founders Boosting PointsBet Stake

The founders of cryptocurrency casino Stake.com are increasing their position in PointsBet (OTC: PBTHF).

Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani, the Australian billionaire entrepreneurs , told the Australia Securties Exchange (ASX) last Friday that they recently boosted their PointsBet position to 16 million shares, or more than 5% of the bookmaker’s shares outstanding. That’s up from 4.2% at the end of December.

The duo have been amassing their PointsBet position through Easygo Gaming a Melbourne-based gaming software company.

Easygo was established in 2016 by young entrepreneurs Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani and has quickly become one of Australia’s fastest growing companies. Our brands attract over 200 million visits per month! More than the population of Australia, Mexico, and Italy combined!,” according to the company’s website.

Stake.com is what’s known as a gray-market operator. That label implies that while it’s not officially licensed and regulated on par with a white-market equivalent, it is safer for consumers than a black-market counterpart.

In initiating the PointsBet stake, Craven and Tehrani signaled an intent to better capitalize on more traditional forms of wagering – something the sports wagering company certainly delivers. However, it’s not clear if the duo want to acquire PointsBet outright.

The Australian bookmaker has long been the subject of consolidation rumors. Last year, it sold its US operations to . PointsBet telegraphed that move by noting to investors it was struggling to garner credible market share in the US and that it might not have the financial resources to compete in this market for the long-term.

Executives acknowledged that despite the fact that DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKGN) and privately held Fanatics engaged in a small bidding war for PointsBet US, that business was sold at a loss.

However, the gaming company makes money in its home market and it retained its Canadian operations, which are also viewed as a potentially valuable asset. Still, it’s not clear if Craven and Tehrani want to eventually gain majority control of PointsBet or if they’ll become .

While Stake.com is widely viewed as a cryptocurrency casino, it does have a sportsbook, indicating that Craven and Tehrani are knowledgeable of that business and there are potential synergies between their company and PointsBet.

Again, the Stake.com founders haven’t overtly said that they want to acquire PointsBet, but their company has been the subject of takeover rumors of its own.

Nearly a year ago, reports surfaced that the internet casino operator on Chicago-based Rush Street Interactive (NYSE: RSI) another gaming name often tied to takeover speculation but a deal didn’t materialize.