Crypto casinos are booming
Crypto casinos have become increasingly popular in recent years. Because they live on the edge of regulation, online casinos that deal exclusively in cryptocurrencies are attractive to those who really want to gamble but either want their financial transactions to be harder to track or need to get around regulations that make traditional deposit options difficult. Most of the biggest online casino streamers also use crypto casinos, which increases the popularity of the sites even further. Now, accordingly Sky NewsSome players have gotten around the UK's ban on crypto casinos by purchasing established accounts.
While there are barriers in the UK preventing people from playing on crypto sites, users in the country were able to easily take over accounts that were already set up and ready to use.
Potential account buyers were able to connect with sellers through ads on popular social media channels, primarily Facebook and Discord. Sky News said ads can also be found on X, TikTok, Telegram and Reddit.
Most of the ads targeted the website Stake, the most popular crypto casino on the internet and the one where most of the most watched streamers play. Music superstar Drake also has a marketing deal with the website. Sky News noted that there is no evidence that Stake had anything to do with the ads or account sales, and that the company is working to prevent unauthorized access to the site.
In the UK, crypto casinos are blocked, so people trying to access a website will receive error messages or be redirected to a UK version of the site. There are ways to get around this through the use of various software programs (probably VPNs), so UK residents can often still access the sites. But there is still the problem of identity verification.
It's just that simple
This is where the account sellers come into play. The ads Sky News “Pre-built” accounts were found where ID verification had already been completed. Buyers could pay more for advanced verification, such as proof of address and proof of funds, not just photo ID.
And many accounts are inexpensive, just $10 to $50, depending on the verification level. Some “premium” accounts with VIP features can cost thousands.
Sky News said that many of the account sellers appeared to be players who had lost a lot of money and both had no use for the account and needed to get at least some money back.
One person told the media outlet: “I lost $225,000 (from gambling) this month. I don't have any money anymore. I'm poor now. I need money for food next week.”
A spokesperson for Stake said Sky News“Stake is aware of attempts to circumvent our industry-leading controls in a variety of ways.” Stake has the strictest controls in the industry, meaning anyone attempting to fraudulently gain access to Stake will develop new methods must.
“Our approach to combating fraudulent stake access attempts continues to evolve in collaboration with regulators and law enforcement to stay one step ahead of malicious actors.”
TikTok, Facebook, Discord and Reddit all removed the ads afterward Sky News pointed it out to her.
