Pensacola law firm files first-ever underage gambling complaint against Stake.com

PENSACOLA, Fla. — Attorneys in Florida have filed the first-ever underage gambling complaint against an offshore company called Stake.com.

It’s described as the world’s largest online casino platform, bringing in billions of dollars in revenue each year.

Lawyers at the Pensacola law firm “Rafferty, Dominick, Cunningham and Yaffa” say the company targets children. This complaint stems from a client who isn’t even 21 yet.

Legal experts say Stake.com is turning children into gambling addicts before they’re even old enough to legally gamble.

“He actually cannot stop,” Rafferty, Dominick, Cunningham and Yaffa attorney Madeline Pendley said. “He’s really addicted to this.”

In the past decade, lawyers say a new type of online predator has emerged and it’s targeting children worldwide.

“These kids have the casino in their pocket, basically,” Pendley said.

Pendley says ads for online gambling hooked her client in when he was just a teen.

“..Stake.com, in particular, uses influencer marketing,” said Pendley. “So they pay tens of millions of dollars to people like Drake, Aiden Ross.”

The teen opened an account on Stake.com using a $5 app to bypass the age restriction.

Since then, the client’s parents say he’s become a full-blown gambling addict wasting tens of thousands of dollars.

“He would use Christmas money, birthday money, gift cards to gamble on these platforms,” said Pendley. “And after a couple of years, it got so serious, he did end up stealing money, using his dad’s credit card to really fund significant gambling expenses.”

The client, now just 20, still isn’t old enough to legally gamble. He dropped out of college after just eight days because he had gambled away all his tuition money.

“And so, he now goes to gamblers anonymous four to five times a week,” Pendley said.

Licensed mental health counselor Joni Winstead says this is a phenomenon that preys on young people, especially in Florida.

“Florida recently legalized online sports betting. And so as a result, we’re seeing a lot more ads pop up,” Winstead said. “Who is the generation that is more than likely to be on the electronics? well, that’s our younger kids. so they’re inundated with these ads, which leaves them more susceptible and vulnerable to engaging in some of these gambling behaviors.

Instead of going to a casino, kids can win big from their own phone, lending them to addiction before they’re even 21.

“So, you know, being physically removed for a casino would have helped him stop,” said Pendley. “But the fact that it’s online, and he can get on whenever he wants, it was just that much more difficult for him.”