Curaçao Gaming Authority Issued Conditional Stake License While Probing True Beneficial Ownership
Leaked CGA records reveal Medium Rare N.V. obtained a conditional Stake license on June 9, 2025, while beneficial ownership involving Craven, Tehrani, and linked entities stayed unresolved. Five-week post-approval clarification was mandated. The regulator defends its step-by-step compliance policy in response to the leak.
SCCG Take — Conditional licensing before ownership clarity creates enforcement exposure for operators and demands stricter upfront disclosures from regulators seeking credibility.
Leaked Curaçao Gaming Authority records show that Medium Rare N.V., the operator behind crypto casino Stake, received a conditional license on June 9, 2025, while regulators still sought clarity on the company’s ownership and links to its publicly identified founders.
The internal report named Mladen Vuckovic as sole ultimate beneficial owner and CEO. It noted, however, that Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani had received no specific disclosure in the application despite their widely reported roles with Stake. The CGA required Medium Rare N.V. to clarify its relationships with the founders, Easygo, Primedice, Sweepsteaks, Well Done STK, and related entities within five weeks of issuance. It also demanded details on agreements covering the Stake brand, domain, and subdomains.
The report stated that the applicant’s “true beneficial ownership and its connections and business/contractual arrangements” remained unclear. Nonetheless, the authority concluded a license could be granted subject to those post-approval conditions.
Regulator’s Phased Compliance Stance
The CGA has confirmed it does not immediately refuse licenses when ownership questions exist. In a statement to Follow the Money, the authority said it was decided under the minister of finance to let companies meet requirements step by step rather than halt activities over uncertainty. A September 22 press release added that the CGA followed robust internal due diligence procedures and warned against judging the process from isolated documents.
Researcher Lilith Wittmann obtained the files, which surfaced through an investigation published September 22 in partnership with Follow the Money and other outlets, as reported by Gambling Insider. The reviewed records do not confirm whether Medium Rare N.V. met the five-week deadline.
Where Licensing Risks Remain
The sequence shows regulators prioritizing license continuity over complete upfront resolution of beneficial ownership. Operators in similar crypto gambling structures must treat post-approval conditions as binding compliance obligations, because later failure to deliver the required detail can expose the license to challenge in tighter regulatory environments.
Reporting: Gambling Insider
Generated by SCCG’s automated editorial system from published source reporting. SCCG Management holds editorial responsibility.
Gaming, betting and prediction markets — the desk’s read, every weekday.
Subscribe →