Stake sportsbook review

No welcome bonus, and what replaces it

Stake does not run a sports welcome bonus. Its promotions page, read on 24 October 2026, lists nine sports promotions and none of them is a sign-up offer. That is a deliberate choice, and it changes how you should judge the book.

With no welcome, there is no rollover to clear, no minimum odds rule and no expiry clock on your first deposit. What you get instead are promotions that run for months.

Is that a worse deal? Not necessarily. A welcome bonus is a one-time payment that usually costs turnover to unlock, and once it is cleared, many books give regular players very little. A standing boost costs nothing to use and applies every week of the season. For someone who bets the NHL or NFL weekly, a better price on a bet you were going to place anyway adds up across a season. For someone who bets twice a year, a welcome offer elsewhere is worth more. Our guide to choosing a sportsbook walks through that trade-off.

Season-long boosts

Stake publishes boosted odds on NHL, NFL, NBA and soccer markets with end dates well into 2027. These are odds boosts: a better price than the standard line on a chosen market. The promotions page shows no max stake per boost and no currency, so check each one on the bet slip. The same page is served worldwide, so availability can vary. Our odds boosts guide shows how to check whether a boosted price is actually better than the market.

Refund specials and early payout

Two standing promotions act as bet insurance. The NFL third-quarter lead refund returns your stake if your team leads by ten or more points after three quarters and still loses. A soccer special pays out on certain 90th-minute scenarios. Refund amounts, currency and caps are not shown on the page, so read each promotion's terms before relying on it. Stake also offers early payout on selected markets, settling a bet as a win when your team builds a set lead.

Sports and markets

Stake lists 35 sports. Hockey, soccer, football including the CFL, basketball, baseball and tennis are deep, and MMA and UFC, darts, horse racing and esports are well covered. The bet builder works on almost all soccer, basketball and football events, so same game parlays are available on most big games.

Features

Live betting, cash out, the bet builder, early payout and live streaming without a deposit are all available. Streaming without a balance is rare and useful for watching a game before you bet in play. There is no phone support; live chat runs 24/7.

Payments and payouts

Stake is built around crypto: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Tether, USDC, Solana and XRP. Interac e-Transfer is listed too. Visa, Mastercard and Apple Pay work only as a way to buy crypto through a partner, and those purchases carry fees, so Interac or direct crypto are the cheaper routes. Crypto withdrawals are fast once your account is verified. Expect KYC checks; a crypto book still verifies identity before larger withdrawals.

Licence and operator

From the Curacao Gaming Authority's licence register (PDF dated 20 October 2026): Medium Rare N.V. holds OGL/2024/1451/0918, a B2C licence with status "Assessment in progress". That means the licence sits in Curacao's new framework but has not reached a final status. Stake is for players outside Ontario and Alberta. Our licences guide explains what a Curacao licence covers.

Stake's casino, which runs on the same account, has its own Stake casino review.

How we score it

Scores come from the operator's published terms, cross-checked against the CGA register, using our rating method. Features and payouts are top-tier; safety is held back by the licence status.

Who it suits

Stake fits a crypto bettor who bets the big leagues every week, likes building same game parlays and would rather have boosts all season than one welcome. It does not fit someone who wants a sign-up bonus, prefers card deposits without fees, or wants the strongest licence available. For a crypto book with a large match, compare CasinOK; for a bonus-led book, see 20Bet. Our betting sites page ranks them all.

Checking the terms yourself

Stake's promotions page is served worldwide, so a promotion listed there may not apply to every Canadian account. Before you bet on a boost or a refund special, open it from your own account and read the max stake, the currency and the end date. A boost with a low cap is still worth taking; just know the cap before you size the bet.

Bottom line

No welcome, but a steady run of boosts and refunds, strong tools and fast crypto payouts. Use Interac or direct crypto to avoid fees, and check each promotion's stake limits. Set your limits before you start; the responsible gambling page has the tools and helplines.