Crypto gambling site that sponsors Everton FC hit with $400m lawsuit

theguardian.com:

Stake UK, the crypto gambling company that sponsors Everton FC, has been hit with a $400m (£346m) lawsuit from a former business partner of its co-founders, alleging they stole from him and bullied him out of the business.

According to court filings obtained by the Guardian, Christopher Freeman, a resident of Florida, claims that he was the brains behind Primedice, a predecessor company of Stake, which is now valued at more than $1bn.

Freeman claims he set up Primedice with school friend Bijan Tehrani and Ed Craven, who now run Stake.

The firm has gone from total obscurity to one of the fastest-growing gambling brands within a few years, boasting a partnership with platinum-selling rapper Drake and sponsorship deals with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and F1 driver Pietro Fittipaldi.

It also sponsors Watford FC and is among a glut of gambling firms, many of them with no presence in the UK, that sponsor English and Scottish football.

According to Freeman’s account, which the company strenuously denies, the trio built the business together but Tehrani and Craven gradually edged him out, using bullying and unlawful tactics.

The key bone of contention relates to the origin of Stake. Freeman says it was his idea to expand Primedice into a more comprehensive crypto casino.

Tehrani and Craven, he says, claimed to be more interested in starting a traditional online casino, using “fiat” currency. In the end, Craven and Tehrani did build a crypto casino, which became Stake.

Freeman alleges the business was built using his ideas, as well as Primedice funds that rightfully belonged to him. He is demanding a full audit of Stake assets to see what he is owed, which he claims could be more than $400m.

A spokesperson for Stake said his