Interview with Bart Crebolder on Drake, Stake, and the Rise of Celebrity Casino Content

You open a livestream or reel for music, gaming, something funny, or celebrity gossip. Five minutes later, somebody says, “Just a quick bet on Rainbet,” and the roulette wheel is already moving.

That little switch has become normal online. Gambling no longer arrives dressed like an old casino advert. It appears inside streams, Instagram stories, sports reactions, podcasts, and clips made to look like ordinary celebrity content.

For this interview, we spoke with Bart Crebolder, the main casino analyst at onlinecasinogroups.com. Bart spends his time testing casino sites, checking operator links, and picking apart the big claims behind celebrity gambling campaigns.

Why Has Celebrity Casino Content Become So Common?

I think casinos finally understood that people skip normal adverts, but they stay for personalities.

A banner saying “play roulette” is easy to ignore. Drake sitting at a table with famous guests, joking, placing a massive bet, and giving money away feels more like entertainment. The casino is still being promoted, but the advert does not always feel like an advert.

That is what makes this format so useful for operators.

We also live in a clip economy now. One crazy roulette spin can become twenty short videos across TikTok, Instagram, X, YouTube, and fan accounts. The casino gets repeated exposure from one moment.

For me, celebrity content works because it sells a mood first. The gambling brand appears almost casually, even when the whole event is commercial.

What Made Drake’s Partnership With Stake Different?

Drake did much more than pose beside a casino logo.

Stake built a full content world around him. There were livestreams, public sports bets, giveaways, roulette sessions, guest appearances, and regular social posts. His wins and losses became entertainment news on their own.

That repetition mattered.

A normal celebrity campaign may run for one launch and disappear. Drake kept placing public bets on major fights, football matches, basketball, and other events. The phrase “Drake curse” even became part of the conversation when his picks lost.

He also showed the losing side at times. In one Instagram post, he claimed he had wagered $124.5 million and lost $8.2 million in one month.

For me, that number was more powerful than another jackpot clip. It showed the scale, but also how quickly huge money can disappear.

Are Viewers Watching Gambling or Watching An Advert?

Most of the time, they are watching both.

That is the bit people need to understand. A stream can be funny, messy, and genuinely entertaining while still being paid marketing. Those two things can exist together.

I think viewers lower their guard because the casino mention comes from somebody they already follow. It may happen between music talk, gaming, jokes, or celebrity guests. The product slips into the normal content.

Personally, I would treat every celebrity casino stream as an advert unless shown otherwise. Enjoy the show, but remember that the operator wants sign-ups, deposits, and attention from it.

Should Viewers Believe the Huge Betting Amounts they See? Should Viewers Believe the Huge Betting Amounts they See?

I would never assume an on-screen balance works like my own bank balance.

We rarely know the full deal. The celebrity may be using personal money, promotional credit, a sponsored balance, winnings from earlier play, or some mix of those things. Unless the terms are explained clearly, viewers cannot know the real financial risk behind the screen.

That matters because a $500,000 bet looks very different when the person placing it has a casino partnership.

I also think the numbers can distort normal betting. A viewer starts seeing $50,000 spins and begins treating $100 as small, even though $100 may be a full week’s spare money for them.

The bet size is part of the show. It creates shock, clips, comments, and headlines.

Regular players should never copy a celebrity stake because it looked casual on camera.

Why Did Gambling Streams Move Away From Twitch?

Twitch changed the whole market in 2022.

It banned streams and links involving several gambling sites, including Stake, Rollbit, Duelbits, and Roobet. That did not kill casino streaming. It pushed much of it somewhere else.

Kick became the obvious new home. The platform is closely linked to Stake’s founders, and it offered streamers more freedom around gambling content. Big creators moved over, audiences followed, and casino streams kept growing.

For me, this showed that platform rules shape the content more than people realise.

Ban one casino on one platform, and the clips still spread through Instagram, YouTube, X, TikTok, Telegram, and fan accounts. The original stream is only the starting point now.

Regulation can close one door, but gambling marketing is very good at finding six side entrances.

Is Celebrity Casino Content Reaching Younger Viewers?

Yes, and I think pretending otherwise is silly.

Celebrity and streamer audiences do not suddenly become adults when a casino logo appears. The same young people following music, gaming, football, and online drama can still see gambling clips mixed into that feed.

The UK Gambling Commission’s 2025 research found that 56 percent of young people recalled gambling promotions on social media. Another 42 percent remembered them on livestreaming or video-sharing platforms.

Among young people already following gambling-related content, nearly one-third said creators or streamers they followed had advertised gambling to them.

Those numbers worry me more than a traditional casino advert.

A television commercial has a clear start and end. Creator content travels through clips, jokes, memes, reactions, and reposts. It can feel like culture rather than marketing, which makes it harder to spot.

Are Regulators Starting to Take Celebrity Promotion More Seriously?Are Regulators Starting to Take Celebrity Promotion More Seriously?

They have to, because fame does not fix a weak licence or bad advertising.

In Britain, gambling ads cannot use people or themes with strong appeal to under-18s. That can include some athletes, reality stars, influencers, and other figures with large younger audiences.

Stake’s British site also shut down in March 2025 after its white-label operator ended operations following a Gambling Commission investigation. The regulator later warned football clubs about promoting gambling brands that could not legally take British customers.

That is important. A brand can sponsor famous people, stream huge events, and appear everywhere online while still facing serious market limits.

Drake, Stake, and Adin Ross have also faced civil lawsuits in the United States. Those cases contain allegations, not proven facts, and Stake has denied key claims.

Still, the legal pressure around influencer gambling is clearly growing.

Final Thoughts from Bart

I do not think celebrity casino content is going away.

It creates attention too quickly, and the format fits modern feeds perfectly. One famous face, one huge spin, and one shocked reaction can travel around the world before breakfast.

But viewers need to stop treating that content like a normal gambling session.

The money may be sponsored. The losses may be edited out. The link may not be legal in every country. The celebrity may have a commercial deal that changes the entire risk.

For me, the best defence is simple. Treat the stream as marketing, check the casino yourself, and never copy a bet because a famous person made it look easy.