Stake.com Eyes Rush Street Interactive Acquisition: What a Deal Between the World's Largest Crypto Casino and a US-Licensed iGaming Leader Would Mean

Stake.com and Rush Street Interactive: The Deal That Would Rewrite US iGaming

Industry sources have placed Rush Street Interactive on Stake.com's acquisition radar — a development that, if it progresses to a formal offer, would constitute the most consequential inbound acquisition attempt in US regulated iGaming history.

The Strategic Logic

Stake.com is one of the world's largest online gambling platforms by wagering volume. Founded in 2017 by Australians Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani, the platform operates primarily on crypto deposit rails, hosts a vast library of original and third-party casino games, and has built a marketing infrastructure through sports sponsorships, influencer partnerships, and streaming deals that reaches hundreds of millions of users globally.

What Stake.com does not have is US regulated market access. Entering the US iGaming market as an independent applicant requires a multi-year licensing process in each state, with suitability reviews that examine ownership history, source of funds, corporate structure, and past regulatory compliance. For a crypto-native offshore platform, that process would be slow, expensive, and uncertain.

Acquiring Rush Street Interactive solves that problem. RSI holds gaming licences in Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey, Indiana, Colorado, Illinois, Virginia, and multiple other jurisdictions. Each of those licences represents a market entry that would take two to four years to replicate independently. RSI's BetRivers brand has established player relationships, responsible gambling compliance infrastructure, and the technology stack required to operate a regulated online casino product.

The Regulatory Barrier

Any change of control of a US gaming licence holder requires approval from each state gaming board that issued licences to the target company. The suitability review process examines the incoming owners — in Stake.com's case, that means reviewing the background, source of funds, and corporate structure of Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani, as well as Stake.com's operating history across multiple jurisdictions.

The outcome of any state gaming board suitability review of Stake.com's founders and corporate structure would be the defining question in any deal timeline. Several states have historically taken 18–24 months to complete change-of-control reviews; some have denied applications from offshore-origin applicants on source-of-funds grounds.

The Market Reaction

RSI's record Q1 2026 — $370.4M revenue, raised full-year guidance of $1.49–1.54B — makes the acquisition timing understandable from Stake.com's perspective. The company's BetRivers brand is demonstrating that the US regulated iGaming market can generate enterprise-scale returns, and its market capitalisation remains below a premium valuation relative to those earnings projections.

Sources: iGaming Trends, casino.org. Compiled May 24, 2026.