The under-fire co-founders of streaming service Kick have been forced to change the name of the Formula One team they sponsor ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix.
Millionaires Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani founded the crypto-currency based online casino Stake in 2017 before branching out into the world of streaming with Kick in 2022.
Endorsed by some of the biggest names on the planet including Canadian rapper Drake, Stake has become one of the world’s largest online casinos and betting platforms in recent years.
On the back of such success, Craven and Tehrani have earned themselves sponsorships with some of the biggest names and clubs in the world of sport.
The company notably sponsor Everton in the Premier League, the UFC, Argentine footballing legend Sergio Aguero and, in the last couple of years, Sauber Motorsport in the F1.
Indeed, since 2023 the Swiss team owned by Peter Sauber have changed their title to Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, more commonly known as Stake F1.
Stake F1 have been forced to change their team name ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix
Regulations in the Netherlands do not allow sponsorships endorsing gambling and Stake is, of course, a gambling platform
Stake also notably sponsor Premier League side Everton
But that won’t be the case at next weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix as the team have been forced to change their name to comply with advertising laws in the Netherlands.
Regulations in the country, which were only introduced earlier this year, ban gambling firms from being promoted in sponsorships.
Such laws mean advertisement of gambling companies cannot be shown on sportswear or feature in any major sporting events, meaning Stake F1 will not only have to change their name but also their vehicles and driver suits.
It’s not the first time Stake F1 have had to contend with such a problem, as the Swiss team were forced to remove the sponsorship at last month’s Belgian Grand Prix too.
It comes on the same week that Kick, which was co-founded by the same duo who spearheaded the rise of Stake, came under fire after the tragic death of a streamer on the platform.
Raphael Graven, better known online as Jean Pormanove, was found dead at his home in Nice, France, on Monday at the age of 46.
He was a prominent figure on Kick – a streaming platform similar to Twitch where people broadcast live video to an audience who can comment and donate money in real time.
It had been alleged that Graven, 46, was subjected to gruesome online challenges involving humiliation, violence, and dangerous stunts before his death. Previous streams reportedly saw Graven slapped, strangled, force-fed, doused in unpleasant liquids, and targeted with a paintball gun by influencers Owen Cenazandotti, 26 and Safine Hamadi, 23.
Raphael Graven, better known online as Jean Pormanove, was a major figure in France ‘s streaming world with more than a million followers across social media
The popular Kick creator, 46, was found dead overnight on Monday, in bed at his home in Contes, near Nice
It was claimed in his native France that he had died after ‘ten days of torture’, sleep deprivation and ingestion of toxic products’.
Content creators who allegedly abused the French streamer on camera before he died during a live stream received more than £31,000 from viewers who encouraged his mistreatment.
Prosecutor Damien Martinelli revealed that medical examiners believed Graven’s death ‘was not traumatic in origin’ and ‘not related to the intervention of a third party’. He said forensic doctors had found no ‘internal or external traumatic injuries’ or burns – only a few bruises and healed lesions.
‘The probable causes of death appear to be medical and/or toxicological,’ he said.
He said further tests had been ordered, and Graven may have had a heart issue in addition to receiving treatment for a problem with his thyroid.
Graven was previously believed to have passed away in his sleep during a live broadcast, following what friends have described as relentless ‘humiliation streams’.
Following his sad death, Kick said all co-streamers involved in the event had been banned from the platform pending the outcome of the investigation.
It said it was also running a ‘complete re-evaluation’ of its French content.
The platform is seen as having less stringent user terms than those of its rival, the better-known Twitch streaming service.
