Stake.us Review (Promo Code NEWBONUS)

TL;DR

• Stake.us is operated by Sweepsteaks Limited (Cyprus registration HE436222), the US-facing entity of EasyGo, the Australian group behind Stake.com; it runs as a sweepstakes promotion under US federal and state law, not as a licensed gambling casino
• As of May 2026, 19 US states are excluded including California, New York, Michigan, Nevada, and Washington; the minimum age is 21 in all eligible states
• Baccarat runs across five variants: Stake Originals, Pragmatic Play, Stake Live, and two Beter Live tables including a No Commission version
• NEWBONUS entered at registration activates the standard welcome package: 250,000 Gold Coins and 25 Stake Cash, plus up to 300,000 GC and 30 SC in daily login bonuses over the first 30 days
• Stake Cash redeems for cryptocurrency prizes at 1 SC = $1; minimum 5 SC; 3x playthrough required; KYC verification mandatory before any redemption

What sweepstakes actually means

The sweepstakes model is unfamiliar to most baccarat players and worth decoding before you put any time into it. Stake.us is not a casino in the legal sense. It's a promotional contest that operates under US sweepstakes law, which permits prize competitions provided entry is available without purchase.

The practical result is two currencies. Gold Coins are entertainment tokens with no monetary value; you can buy them optionally, receive them free through bonuses, and play with them all day without any redeemable consequence. Stake Cash is the currency that matters. You cannot buy it directly; that would constitute a gambling stake. Instead, you receive it as a free add-on with Gold Coin purchases and through welcome bonuses, daily logins, and the NEWBONUS code at registration. When you accumulate enough Stake Cash and meet the playthrough condition, you redeem it for cryptocurrency at 1 SC = $1. The game mechanics are real; the instrument is promotional currency, not a deposit.

Why does any of this connect to baccarat? Because the mathematics don't change. Banker at 1.06%, Player at 1.24%, Tie at 14.36%: those edges are invariant whether you're playing for promotional credits or at the Bellagio's high-limit salon. The stakes are modest and the atmosphere is a streaming studio rather than a room, but the game is the same game.

What NEWBONUS unlocks

NEWBONUS is entered at registration and activates Stake.us's standard new-player welcome package. Per Stake.us's current promotions:

• Sign-up bonus: 250,000 Gold Coins and 25 Stake Cash, credited on account creation and KYC verification
• Daily login bonus: 10,000 GC and 1 SC per day for up to 30 consecutive days (total possible: 300,000 GC and 30 SC)
• Rakeback: 3.5% on eligible wagers, credited on a rolling basis
• Playthrough on SC: 3x before any Stake Cash qualifies for redemption
• Minimum SC for redemption: 5 eligible SC ($5 equivalent)

The 3x playthrough is modest. Twenty-five SC at a $1 Banker-bet table requires 75 hands to clear, which is a single session. The welcome offer terms can change; verify the current package at stake.us at the point of registration. Gold Coin packages purchased through the in-platform store include Stake Cash as a promotional add-on at quantities displayed at the time of purchase.

Who runs the place

Stake.us is operated by Sweepsteaks Limited, incorporated in Cyprus on 6 July 2022 (registration number HE436222), with a registered address at the Omrania Centre, 28 Oktovriou 313, Limassol, Cyprus 3105. The entity was created solely to operate Stake.us and is the US-facing arm of EasyGo, the Australian group co-founded by Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani, who launched the Stake brand in 2017. Stake.com, the real-money offshore casino, operates through a separate Curaçao entity; the two platforms share branding and some game content but are distinct legal structures.

Sweepsteaks Limited holds no gambling licence, because US sweepstakes law does not require one. What you have instead is the protection of US consumer law: false-advertising and unfair-practices statutes apply to sweepstakes promotions, and the Alternative Method of Entry provision (which allows anyone to request Stake Cash by post without making a purchase) is a legal requirement, not a courtesy.

State eligibility. Per Stake.us's restricted-states help page, the following 19 states are currently excluded: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia. The list expanded materially in early 2025 when several states tightened their positions on sweepstakes operators; it may continue to change.

KYC. Gold Coin play requires only email verification. To receive Stake Cash and redeem it for prizes, you must complete identity verification: a government-issued photo ID and a selfie, reviewed by Stake.us staff. Redemptions are blocked on unverified accounts.

The baccarat selection

Stake.us offers five baccarat variants, which is an unusually strong catalogue for a US sweepstakes platform.

Stake Originals Baccarat is the in-house version, built by EasyGo's studios. The game page publishes an overall RTP of 98.90%, which maps to the standard punto banco edge distribution: Banker at 1.06%, Player at 1.24%, Tie at 14.36%. It runs on a certified RNG with no human dealer, deals quickly, and carries a provably-fair architecture in which each round's seed is verifiable after the fact.

Pragmatic Play Baccarat is a licensed third-party RNG title from Pragmatic Play, following standard punto banco rules. The house edge on Banker is approximately 1.15%, marginally higher than the Originals version; the additional tenth of a percent buys a more polished visual interface.

Stake Live Baccarat is a live-dealer table operated using Stake.us's own hosted studio and dealers, filmed in real time with chat. There's no card-squeeze ritual and the cameras are fixed, but it's punto banco with a human croupier on screen.

Beter Live Baccarat and Beter Live Baccarat NC are live-dealer tables supplied by Beter Live. The standard version pays Banker at 0.95:1 with the usual 5% commission; the No Commission version eliminates the commission and pushes certain Banker wins instead, lifting the Banker edge to approximately 1.46%.

The Tie bet carries a 14.36% edge across all five variants. Mentioning it here is the full extent to which I'll discuss it.

Payment methods, purchase tiers and redemption

Stake.us does not take deposits. Optional Gold Coin packages are purchased via cryptocurrency or by credit card through the third-party processor Breeze (Visa and Mastercard accepted). There is no bank transfer, ACH, or e-wallet. Gold Coin purchase tiers and the Stake Cash bundled with each package are displayed in the in-platform store; quantities vary by promotional period.

Stake Cash redemptions require 5 or more eligible SC, completed KYC, and the 3x playthrough satisfied. The redemption flow:

1. Wallet section, then Redeem
2. Enter SC amount and select cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Ripple, Tron, and others)
3. Provide receiving wallet address
4. Submit; processing takes up to 24 hours

Rate is fixed at 1 SC = $1. If cryptocurrency was used to purchase a Gold Coin package, Stake.us requires the same coin type for redemptions, an anti-money laundering control. Florida residents face a maximum daily redemption of 5,000 SC; other eligible states have a higher ceiling.

Tax. Under US federal law, sweepstakes prizes above $600 in a calendar year are reportable income. Cryptocurrency received as a prize is valued at fair market value at receipt and treated as ordinary income. Stake.us will issue a 1099 where IRS rules require it.

Where you can and can't play

Per Stake.us's own restricted-states page, 19 states are currently excluded: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia. The minimum age is 21 in all eligible states. Geolocation enforcement is active; a VPN does not change legal eligibility and risks account suspension and balance forfeiture.

The Curzon Street test

Crockfords on Curzon Street closed in November 2023, but its standard for a serious gaming room still serves: does the house tell you what the game costs, and does the cashier pay? Stake.us mostly passes.

The house edges are published on the game pages. The sweepstakes model is disclosed in terms that are dense but not evasive. The 3x playthrough is light enough to clear in a single session rather than a weeks-long grind. The cryptocurrency-only redemption route excludes players without a wallet, and that limitation is stated plainly rather than buried.

What I won't do is present this as a substitute for a real-money baccarat room. The Stake Live table doesn't replicate a Marina Bay Sands baccarat pit on a busy Friday, where the collective attention of a full table on a slow shoe produces something no studio camera achieves. Stake.us is a promotional entertainment product that resembles baccarat closely enough to be useful: honest edges, live dealers, five variants. The NEWBONUS code delivers real redeemable value. The 19-state exclusion list has grown and may grow further. Know what you're joining before you verify.

Key numbers

The pit boss takeaway

Stake.us is a legitimately built sweepstakes platform with five baccarat variants and a cleaner playthrough condition than most real-money welcome offers. The NEWBONUS code delivers 25 Stake Cash units against a 3x requirement that a single session clears. The corporate lineage is verifiable: Sweepsteaks Limited is the EasyGo group's Cyprus entity, the same group that built Stake.com, and the Originals Baccarat publishes its RTP on the game page without equivocation. The limitations matter: cryptocurrency-only redemptions, 21-and-over age gate, and a 19-state exclusion list that grew significantly in early 2025. If you're in an eligible state, over 21, and comfortable holding a crypto wallet: the baccarat selection is the best on any US sweepstakes platform. If any of those conditions don't apply, the door isn't open.

Sources: Stake.us restricted-states help page | Stake.us Originals Baccarat game page | Stake.us promotions page | Pragmatic Play Live baccarat product pages