Akhil Sarin joined Easygo back in 2020 as an affiliate manager; he now oversees the marketing function of the Stake and Kick parent that reported net profit of A$257m in the 12 months to 30 June 2025. It has been a rapid rise to become chief marketing officer for Sarin, as Stake emerged to become one of the leading crypto operators in the online gambling industry. And marketing has been at the forefront of that rise. Sponsorships with Everton, the UFC and global superstar Drake have catapulted the brand into the limelight. Kick, the rival streaming service set up to challenger Twitch, acts as a top-of-funnel to drive consumers to Stake via its rollcall of influencers.
Controversy has been courted in the process; Sarin says it’s been a form of innovation. But, as Stake pushes into more regulated markets, including Italy and Denmark, marketing restrictions will mount. How the platform changes track, or to what degree it does so, may well influence its performance.
EGR: How would you define Stake’s marketing strategy and why is it unique to the rest of the industry?
Akhil Sarin (AS): Stake is about cultural relevance. It’s about building a brand over trying to acquire customers. That’s the simplified version of it. I think since day one [we’ve been unique]. I was the first marketing person for the company, and when I joined we were a staff of 20. Since day one, my idea of the brand was this is cool, right? Stake, for me, has cultural relevance, and I need to make sure that’s how the world sees it, and that’s why I think we’ve done it [marketing] differently.
If you look at a lot of the brands, it’s all about the bottom line, it’s all about the cost of acquisition. Of course, we look at those things, but you can only acquire a certain amount of customers – there’s a ceiling to that. You don’t become mainstream and you don’t become mass market by being data obsessed. You need to be data driven, but not data obsessed. It’s about building a brand. We’re just here to take over.
EGR: How do you deal with ad and marketing regulations and restrictions, especially as Stake pushes into more regulated markets?
AS: We take the standardised requirements of regulated markets and convert them into innovative marketing opportunities. When it comes to regulated markets, it’s about localisation; every country has its own culture and it’s about tapping into the opportunities of each market. I don’t worry or doubt myself for even one minute when we think about Stake entering a new regulated market. I think we will be able to replicate the success we’ve seen elsewhere.
EGR: What does the Easygo ecosystem, especially Kick, allow for in terms of marketing synergies and benefits?
AS: It’s not just about Kick. I think it’s about scale. Streaming has been a source of acquisition. The fact Easygo has become a technological powerhouse is what really helps us because, again, economies of scale, centralised functions, or having skilled people can quickly translate across different business lines.
I think that’s the value of Kick. Kick is the most visible but there are also different business lines of the group. It’s just exciting being able to really contribute to both brands.
EGR: What do platforms like TikTok and Telegram allow Stake to do differently?
AS: It’s about building content that’s native to those platforms. What happens is a lot of brands try to replicate the same piece of social media across each platform. I don’t think that translates well. What your average TikTok user wants is not what your average Instagram user wants. When thinking about marketing activation and brand activation, you’ve got to be very content or platform specific.
EGR: On responsible gambling, Stake a crypto-first operator will have a large Gen Z userbase. How do you approach the topic in light of that?
AS: There is one assumption there that a lot of our audience is Gen Z. We are a social-first brand and the connotation is that Gen Z use socials. But their parents use socials, too. We have people who have signed up after watching an Instagram Reel who are 55. Going back to responsible gambling, I think that topic needs more attention from the industry overall.
EGR: Stake has courted controversy over its marketing in the past. Do you think the business is moving beyond that and ‘growing up’?
AS: I don’t think it’s about growing up. I think it’s about perception. It’s about what it means to build a brand for a lot of people. So that might be a bit on the edgier side, but a lot of people, when they describe Stake, they talk about innovation. It’s the same in marketing. It’s not deposit matching; it’s building a brand.
EGR: How are you approaching VIP marketing?
AS: It’s kind of a myth that you can only cater marketing to a VIP. VIPs truly care about the product; let’s be real. If I’ve got a million dollars that I’m playing with tonight, I want the best experience and the best product. I don’t care what the best brand is, right?
The brand is what brings the VIP, but what retains the VIP is the product and the service. I would love to take credit and say it’s my marketing that’s bringing all these VIPs. But the reality is that instant withdrawals, instant deposits, 24/7 VIP hosting, seamless customer support are the things that really matter. In turn, VIPs act as your marketing to other VIPs.
EGR: What marketing plans are in place for the World Cup and are there challenges given Stake doesn’t hold a B2C licence in the US?
AS: We are doing something massive. We’ve got a big roster of football ambassadors, which is increasing considerably for the World Cup. I don’t want to reveal what it is, but there will be lots of content and on-the-ground activations.
It’s about building a brand. Building a brand does not equal customer acquisition. You can always build a brand in any country you want, even without acquiring the customer, because you’re preparing for the regulation, you’re preparing for something else.
The post Easygo marketing chief: “We’re here to take over” first appeared on EGR Intel.
Akhil Sarin, chief marketing officer for the company behind Stake and Kick, tells EGR that brand building, rather than data obsession, has led to the crypto operator’s meteoric rise
The post Easygo marketing chief: “We’re here to take over” first appeared on EGR Intel.