Stake Sponsors Sauber F1 Team with Full Naming Rights

Article ByDavid Weir

January 3, 2024

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Posted in: US Sports Betting News, US Gambling News

Cryptocurrency casino operator Stake.com has acquired the naming rights for the Sauber F1 Team, as announced by Formula One this week.  

The agreement, extending for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, will see Stake branding replace that of European car manufacturer Alfa Romeo.

Stake, the Australian-based cryptocurrency casino and sportsbook, sponsors various sports organizations around the world. As well as its new F1 deal, Stake also sponsors English Premier League soccer’s Everton FC and the African MMA league African Warriors Fighting Championship (AWFC).

Previously, Sauber F1 had a smaller sponsorship deal with Stake’s live streaming platform, Kick. The Swiss team finished in 9^th place in the Constructor’s Championship in 2023, with drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu. Both are expected to stay on for the 2024 season.

“Fueled by deep passion for speed, innovation, and pushing boundaries, we are now ideally positioned to take the team to unprecedented heights from 2024 and beyond,” said Stake founder Edward Craven.

“The upcoming years will be a thrilling ride, with some mind-blowing activations planned that will redefine excitement on and off the track. So, brace yourselves and stay tuned, as Stake F1 Team accelerates towards an exciting future.”

The Details of the Deal

The financial terms of the agreement between Stake.com and Sauber F1 Team remain undisclosed. Yet the multiyear deal points to a substantial commitment from both parties.

As the primary sponsor, Stake.com’s branding will be center stage, with the team set to be known as “Stake F1 Team Sauber.”

The collaboration is only temporary, though, as Sauber will be rebranding to Audi’s factory team in 2026.

As well as the main optics, Stake.com will also use its notable celebrity backers to promote the team. Those include hugely-memed sports bettor and global megastar rapper Drake, Argentine and Premier League soccer legend Sergio Aguero, and two-time UFC Champion Israel Adesanya.

The new Stake F1 team’s operations will gear up in February, when it is set to debut the new multimillion team race car at glitzy event in London, England. The new car will have a Kick Sauber C44 chassis and will retain its Ferrari-designed engine from 2023.

Impact and Expectations

Stake’s involvement in the team is expected to leverage the global appeal of Formula 1, attracting new audiences and enhancing the fan experience through innovative engagement strategies.

“Last season represented the start of Stake’s journey in Formula 1, and the brand’s new role headlining Stake F1 Team represents the natural and exciting next step on this path,” said Team Representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi.

“Stake not only successfully tapped into Formula 1’s growing fan base to enhance its own community, but also introduced a completely new audience to the sport, something that benefited not only our team, but also everyone else in F1.”

This partnership arrives at a time when Formula 1 is increasingly intersecting with the crypto and gambling scenes.

The sport has been attracting sponsorship from various blockchain and cryptocurrency companies, seeking to capitalize on its global platform and affluent fan base. November 2023’s successful Las Vegas Grand Prix also brought F1 to the largest U.S. gambling destination, and by all accounts, Nevada casinos and retail sportsbooks did very well over the race weekend.

However, not everyone is happy with Stake’s increasing presence across the world of professional sports. The operator is not licensed in any U.S. market, and is essentially an offshore casino for U.S. players. It has also been in line for criticism over its streaming operation, Kick, which allows and promotes gambling streams, as well as having a generally more relaxed content policy.

Kick was partly launched as a counterpoint competitor to previously dominant platform Twitch, which cracked down on gambling streams in early 2023.