Stake Casino & Sport Betting Stats - Highlights May 2026

Stake May 2026 recap: Esports craze, football finals, and upcoming biggest events in June

Team Vitality’s historic 5th straight Counter-Strike title win, as well as the launch of the newly refreshed Crash Stake Originals game, made May one of the busiest months of the year at Stake. Between major football finals, Esports excitement and new casino releases, our platform saw lots of major moments. Here’s what happened in May, and what you can expect in June as the biggest events get underway at Stake.

Stake news from the month - May's biggest events

Stake’s Esports betting partner Team Vitality continued their dominance in May. The Counter-Strike 2 team won BLAST Rivals Spring 2026, their 5th consecutive title. This win came off the back of them making history as the first team to ever win 2 straight ESL Grand Slams. The victory reinforced Team Vitality’s position as the team to beat after extending one of the most dominant runs Counter-Strike has seen in years.

Elsewhere in the world of professional Counter-Strike, Ninjas in Pyjamas were crowned champions of the Stake Ranked Finals. Episode 2 of the Stake Ranked series saw over 200 teams compete across the qualifying rounds. The Finals offered a $100,000 prize pool, with $25,000 going to the winners. The event marked Stake’s continued support and engagement with the CS2 community. In June, the closed qualifiers for Episode 3 of Stake Ranked begin.

Meanwhile, in Budapest, Hungary, the Champions League came to a close. Paris Saint-Germain became one of just 9 clubs to have won Europe’s elite club competition back-to-back, as they defeated Arsenal in the UCL final. The Premier League champions held on until the end after scoring early, but lost the penalty shootout, ending their hopes of a first-ever Champions League win. Soccer was the most popular sport to bet on at Stake Sportsbook last month, with a total of 37,489.157 bets placed in May.

Over in New Jersey, US, MMA fans got to witness two major title fights at UFC 328. Sean Strickland regained the middleweight belt against the formerly undefeated Khamzat Chimaev. Meanwhile, Joshua Van defended the flyweight belt for the first time as he stopped Tatsuro Taira by KO in the 5th round.

Stake May 2026 stats: bets, biggest wins, and most-played games

May was exciting for Stake players, and it shows with 8,648,473,465 total bets placed on casino games throughout the month. Slot games persistently prove to be the star of the show at Stake. Driven by new releases, bold and engaging themes, exciting and rewarding features. They are more than just games - they’re entertainment. An appeal that reflected in the more than 2 million wagers on slot titles at Stake Casino. With one slot paying out the largest win for May with a whopping $13,345,100.00 on Gates of Olympus Super Scatter!

While slots maintained the top category, Dice emerged as our most popular Stake Originals title. This simple and fun virtual dice game drew in 2,535,802,456 bets driven by its unique, fast-paced gameplay experience.

However, one of our standout moments of the month was the largest wager from a high-roller placed bet of $1,470,000.00 while playing Privé Lounge 4!

Stake sportsbook also had an impressively strong month, recording 75,589,378 bets across a wide range of different markets. The biggest payout of $4,360,639.37 was a smart NBA bet on the Minnesota Timberwolves taking the win.

The biggest new casino games at Stake in May

Gates of Heaven

In May, Pragmatic Play’s Gates of Heaven 1000 was the most popular new game with 30,468,232 bets.

Pragmatic Play’s popularity at Stake is thanks to its focus on entertaining and rewarding games. While their long-running game series is often updated. New releases with interesting features mean players can look forward to fresh ideas and old favourites all rolled into one.

Gates of Heaven 1000, being their latest addition to the Gates of Heaven slot saga, offers many of the same ways to play. You’ll find free spins, big multipliers, cluster pays, and bonus buy options. However, the real difference is that Gates of Heaven 1000 bumps the max win up from 5000x to 15,000x your bet.

Angel of Asgard

Mythological slots were all the rage as the next top slot for May was Angel of Asgard by Valkyrie. The latest fantasy slot to join the lineup, featuring a beautiful warrior, multiplier wilds, and free spins, received more than 20,000,000 total bets.

Valkyrie, being a fairly new software provider, available Only on Stake, currently has 8 games available, which are already proving to hold their weight in the industry. The focus on mythological creatures and deities, a theme that players love, also makes these games a winner.

Wanted Salvation

Wanted Salvation by Hacksaw Gaming delivered a Wild West-themed high-volatility gameplay experience thanks to special features like Duel and The Great Train Robbery. This helped propel it into one of May’s most-played new releases, generating more than 17,000,000 bets.

What makes Hacksaw Gaming stand out from the crowd is its persistence in pushing boundaries. It's their inventive game mechanics and bold themes, which often have them listed as a top choice for our players.

If you’re keen to explore new releases, we update our game library every week with titles by many different software providers.

May's most-played Only on Stake games

Strong interest in Only on Stake titles continued during May, with these exclusive games being available only on our platform. Continuing the popularity of the Big Bass series, Big Bass Rock and Roll led the category with 75,026,735 bets. While Wayland’s Forge helped fortify Valkyrie’s position within exclusive games, with a total of 37,748,187 bets.

Tome of Hades by Valkyrie proved the demand for mythology-themed slots throughout May with 32,184,425 bets. While the appearance of Big Bass BOOM, yet another slot by Pragmatic Play, highlighted the provider’s continued appeal, with 28,062,589 wagers.

The biggest sporting events to bet on in June

Sports fans can look forward to one of the busiest sporting months of the year in June. From the biggest international soccer tournament to the NBA Finals, which sees a fierce rivalry revived. There’s also one of the biggest Counter-Strike 2 tournaments of the year, and a historic UFC event at the White House. We offer a chock-full of betting opportunities to explore at Stake Sportsbook.

International Soccer Tournament

Every four years, national soccer teams have a chance to become legends at the world’s biggest sporting competition. The biggest international soccer tournament returns this month, with the group stage kicking off on 11 June. It’s the first time the tournament has ever been hosted by 3 different countries, as Mexico, Canada and the US co-host, with 48 teams competing for a chance to win.

France and Spain are currently joint favourites, but England, Brazil and Argentina are also top contenders. We cover our winning predictions, dark horses, and golden boot picks on the 2026 International football tournament picks blog.

UFC Freedom 250

Few sporting events have gotten people talking quite like UFC Freedom 250, with the White House setting making it a truly historic event. The fight card will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, with plenty of big fights to look forward to.

The main event sees Justin Gaethje facing Ilia Topuria for the lightweight title. Meanwhile, Stake fighter Alex Pereira has a chance to make history as the first 3-division champion as he faces Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title. The winner of that fight will likely take on Tom Aspinall for the unified belt in the future. Get all the analysis and predictions for each matchup on the UFC picks blog.

IEM Cologne Major

This month, the IEM Cologne Major 2026 will get underway as the best teams in the world compete for a share of the $1.25 million prize pool. The tournament is considered by fans and teams as the most prestigious CS2 event of the year. Known as the “Cathedral of Counter-Strike,” it holds historic significance in the professional Esports scene. The crowd at the LANXESS Arena, which will host the playoffs, is also considered one of the most passionate in Esports.

Team Vitality are the defending Major champions and currently the most dominant team in the world. Meanwhile, our other Esports betting partner, Astralis, will be looking to make the playoffs of a Major for the first time since 2019. You can bet on all the matches and teams throughout the tournament, including outright and live betting markets. Don’t miss out on our opinions and analysis on the CS2 major picks blog.

NBA Finals

Also happening this month is the showdown of the NBA playoffs, as the New York Knicks take on the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.

The Knicks last played in the NBA Finals in 1999, also against their current opponents, the Spurs. The Knicks were defeated 4-1 as the Spurs won their first championship. Now, they have a chance to gain redemption in this historic rivalry.

For the Knicks, players such as Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart will be key to victory. Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs will be relying on the likes of Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox, plus the generational talent of Victor Wembanyama.

While betting on the NBA Finals at Stake, you can make the most of all the player props and game lines. There are also outright betting markets, including series winner and MVP bets. We share our expert analysis and predictions for this 7-game series in our NBA Finals picks.

The US Open

The 2026 US Open, one of golf’s biggest events, gets underway from 18 - 21 June, with the largest prize fund of any golf tournament.

The world’s leading top players are expected in the third men’s major championship as they compete for one of sport’s most prestigious titles. While the latest outright betting odds are available for players ahead of the opening round.

Stake Ranked Episode 3

Stake Ranked also returns this month, with the closed qualifiers for Episode 3 taking place between 18 and 21 June. 4 teams from the open qualifiers will join the remaining 12 invited teams, but only 2 can make it to the finals in July.

So far, the Stake Ranked series has been a massive success, with exciting matchups between strong teams from all over the world. You can bet on every match here at Stake, with markets such as match winner, handicaps and total rounds. Stay up to date on Stake ranked predictions before making your bets.

Wimbledon

Grand Slam tennis returns in June, as Wimbledon gets underway on 29 June. It marks the start of the grass-court tennis season, with both men’s and women’s tennis stars heading to the All England Club to compete.

Jannick Sinner will be looking to defend last year’s ATP title, but with Carlos Alcaraz out with injury, can anyone challenge him? Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek will look to defend her WTA title, which she won in straight sets in 2025. The absence of Alcaraz potentially means Sinner has a lot of value as an outright betting option. Meanwhile, the tournament offers plenty of pre-match and live betting options. Keep track of the latest tips and predictions on the Wimbledon picks blog.

There are plenty of options to bet on at Stake throughout June, in a month that looks set to be one of the busiest of the year. While you’re betting on all the biggest events, you can also find specially tailored promotions including boosted odds, insurance and community challenges.

Best Stake.com promos and community challenges for June

As you’re enjoying what promises to be a busy month at Stake, you can make the most of event-specific promotions and community challenges.

During the 2026 international tournament, you’ll enter a $100k community raffle each time you place a bet of $10 or more on any match and lock in your bet on the community forums. Or make the most of boosted odds on one selection of every match.

If you’re betting on the UFC Freedom 250 fights, you can benefit from the split decision insurance promo. Place a pre-match bet on any match winner, and if your fighter loses a split decision, your stake gets refunded.

At IEM Cologne, pre-match odds for Team Vitality and Astralis are boosted. The odds boosts are available on specific markets during the tournament.

Stake vs Eddie is another fun promotion to scoop, with a weekly prize pool of $50,000! All you have to do is place a qualifying bet and beat Eddie’s highest game multiplier that week.

Check out the VIP Club if you’d also like to earn regular rewards such as rakeback and reloads, or your very own VIP host!

But while you take part in all the action at Stake Sportsbook and Stake Casino, make sure you’re following our responsible betting guidelines to stay Stake Smart. Be sure to also check out how we've been fairing compared to last year at Stake.