Per court documents, Stake.com sought to buy Stake’s URL Stake.com.au, but the talks did not yield any results.
Cryptocurrency casino Stake.com, in documents filed with the Australian Federal court, has denied it infringed on the trademarks of Australian share trading platform Stake.
The lawsuit filed in August 2023 by the latter is progressing towards a trial, a report in Australia’s Financial Review said.
Legal Tangle
Stake share trading platform owns the URL stake.com.au, while the crypto casino founded by Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani goes by Stake.com. Both Stake and Stake.com were founded in 2017, and there has been a simmering tension between the two companies over a similar brand name, culminating in the lawsuit.
Stake.com’s global visibility increased through various big-ticket sponsorships, including Premier League football teams, taking pop star Drake as brand ambassador in early 2022, and sponsorship of the F1 team in 2023.
The lawsuit filed by the Stake share trading platform came after Stake.com’s Formula One sponsorship of the Alfa Romeo team in 2023. Denying the accusations, Stake.com argued that it removed its name and logo from the team’s car during the 2023 Melbourne Grand Prix.
But Stake claims that during the four days of the Grand Prix, their casino logos were displayed in various places like official team merchandise banners, the team display, signs at the event, and even the race program.
Stake.com is based in Melbourne, but its gambling services are unavailable to Australians. However, Stake.com’s merchandise and apparel are available in the country. In the lawsuit, Stake claimed that it might mislead the consumers that the firm is associated with Stake.com, which amounts to a breach of Australian consumer laws.
Stake.com’s Reply
The Sydney Morning Herald, in a report on September 21, 2023, quoted a Stake.com spokesperson on the legal dispute.
“We are aware of a frivolous claim lodged in the Federal Court by Stakeshop, which in part claims that our global Formula One team sponsorship impinges on their ability to sell trucker hats.”
“We are proud of the global stake.com brand. As a group, we abide by the laws of the countries in which we operate and do not offer our stake.com platform to Australian customers. We believe the claim has no legal merit and will vigorously defend our rights.”
The documents filed with the court reveal that Stake.com sought to buy the stake.com.au website from the share broker’s trading platform business. But it didn’t reach any conclusion. These documents also reveal Stake.com’s plans to expand into the Australian market, for which it has applied for several trademarks, including Stake Australia, Stake Bet, and Stake Casino.
