Stephen Findeisen, otherwise known as popular YouTuber Coffeezilla, claimed a sportsbook company offered him $1 million with “no strings attached.”
Key Takeaways
- Findeisen believes he would have been asked to do something if he accepted the money.
- The identity of the person or the company behind the offer was not revealed.
- Coffeezilla previously received a bribe to bash an illegal online casino operator.
Findeisen, who has 4.4 million subscribers on YouTube and is known for critical investigative pieces, says he opposes online gambling and the negative consequences it creates.
The online star revealed during his new video, “Investigating the Online Gambling Epidemic,” that a legal sportsbook company - meaning one that is regulated and licensed to operate - offered him seven figures without recommending or instructing him how to use the funds.
Allegedly, the offer was to help cover legal fees related to an ongoing defamation suit filed by WWE and internet star, Logan Paul, regarding a video Findeisen made about Paul’s failed blockchain game called CryptoZoo.
"I was offered $1 million to cover my legal fees in an ongoing case," Findeisen said during his latest upload. "Now, this was offered by a person who said they wanted to remain anonymous, no strings attached - very nice person. They said they just wanted to help out. Sounds great, but then I found out the money was coming from a sports betting company ... and that’s obviously a dilemma for me."
Findeisen did not mention the name of the person who made the offer or the sports betting company they represented. He only referred to them as “one of the top people.”
“I am publicly against gambling, and here this person’s kind of privately telling me, well, gambling can pretty much solve all my problems. Pay my legal fees,” he continued. “You know, they’re telling me, 'Oh, their company is regulated. It’s fine, it’s above board.' Ultimately, I had to say no. Thank you for the offer, but you know, in my head, there’s no such thing as $1 million, no strings attached. I obviously can’t take $1 million from a sports betting company and then go make a video criticizing sports betting.”
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Coffeezilla received gambling bribes
Findeisen claims this wasn't the first time he received an offer from a gambling company.
He said he was offered $20,000 earlier this year to make a video slamming an unregulated casino’s rival. He was not asked to promote the requesting brand.
Many online gambling companies, from legal sportsbooks to illegal offshore casinos, have partnership deals with celebrities to help promote their brand. The thumbnail of Findeisen’s latest video portrays Drake, an ambassador for Stake.com and Stake.us, Kevin Hart, who works with DraftKings, casino high-roller and UFC boss Dana White, and many other popular figures.
Thirty-nine states have already legalized sports betting. Seven states have online casinos, and sweepstakes casinos have become increasingly popular nationwide. However, a recent survey found that Americans are growing more averse to sports betting.
Pew Research Center, which polled nearly 10,000 U.S. adults from July 8 to Aug. 3, 2025, found that 43% of adults now believe sports betting is bad for society. That number is well up from 34% in 2022.
Google tightens gambling advertisement regulations
Amid the evolving gambling landscape, Google has limited sweepstakes casinos’ ability to promote their platforms.
A change that was implemented Oct. 28 closed a loophole and required social gaming platforms to meet the same advertising requirements as licensed gambling platforms. It did this by clarifying that all games involving “real-world rewards” now fall outside its social gaming ad policy.
