President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated picture of himself alongside UFC CEO Dana White outside the White House on Thursday. The image included a tag for offshore gaming site Stake, raising the profile of one of the world’s largest unlicensed foreign betting platforms operating in the United States.
- A social media post from Donald Trump featured an image including offshore betting site Stake, drawing attention to an unlicensed operator in the U.S.
- Stake faces lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny for alleged illegal gambling promotion and lack of licensing across U.S. jurisdictions.
- The incident highlights broader tensions around offshore gaming, cryptocurrency, and prediction market regulation under the current administration.
The post on Trump’s Truth Social account showed the President and UFC boss outside an empty Octogen in the White House’s south lawn as lightning strikes in the background. Trump captioned the post, “Soon.”
Trump has made his sports fandom a major component of his presidency, traveling to multiple football games and other major sporting events. He has long been a supporter of White and mixed martial arts and has touted a scheduled June 14 UFC event on the White House lawn.
It is unclear if Trump intended to promote Stake in the post. Trump typically publishes multiple original posts as well as reposts on Truth Social daily.
Following Thursday’s MMA post, he posted an AI-generated video of his visage on the face of the moon as well as a separate AI picture of a Trump-branded skyscraper on the moon with the same “Soon” caption.
Stake questions
The President publishing a social media post with the Stake logo increases publicity - and scrutiny - of online gaming.
Stake has become a constant presence on Instagram, TikTok, and other major social media platforms via sponsored content partnerships with hundreds of digital influencers. That includes streamer Adin Ross and rapper Drake, one of the most followed social media celebrities.
The Australia-based, cryptocurrency-focused gaming operator is facing numerous lawsuits in multiple states for offering what plaintiffs consider unlicensed gambling. Ross and Drake are also the subject of lawsuits alleging illegal gambling promotion.
𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗱 𝗝. 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗽 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝟭𝟬:𝟯𝟰 𝗔𝗠 𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝟬𝟰.𝟬𝟵.𝟮𝟲𝟳
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) April 9, 2026
Soon pic.twitter.com/qoUxKhU7oC
Stake is not licensed to offer online casino gaming or sports betting in any U.S. jurisdiction. It was stripped of its U.K. license last year.
Regulated gaming companies along with the American Gaming Association have lobbied Trump and prior administrations to exercise federal authority to crack down on unlicensed operators. Individual states, which have most authority over gambling within their borders, are limited by financial and legal restraints from pushing out many offshore operators.
Critics of offshore sites argue these platforms offer no consumer protections or problem gambling assistance. Unlike regulated gaming platforms, these sites are also not required to pass licensing requirements or pay taxes or other fees.
Larger questions
Trump’s post comes as the administration has taken unprecedented steps to embrace cryptocurrencies as well as prediction markets despite rising pushback from parts of the gaming industry and some lawmakers.
Mike Selig, the Trump-appointed chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that oversees prediction markets, has vociferously defended the platforms and supported legal challenges against jurisdictions looking to force out prediction markets.
Roughly two dozen states have sought to force out leading prediction markets such as Kalshi and Crypto.com, arguing they violate state law.
Selig, and the Trump administration by extension, have argued prediction markets are federally regulated commodity exchanges and not subject to state regulatory enforcement. Donald Trump Jr. is an advisor and investor in Kalshi and Polymarket.
Congress has introduced multiple bipartisan legislative proposals to restrict or ban prediction markets from offering sports event contracts, which make up roughly 85% of their trading volume. Lawmakers have also considered legislation to ban insider trading on politically tied event contracts, a push that has garnered more momentum in the wake of multimillion-dollar trades surrounding U.S. military actions in Venezuela and Iran.
Several states have also introduced prediction market ban legislation.
Trump and his fellow Republicans have largely been against any regulation on cryptocurrency, prediction markets, or other forms of online trading and gaming. The Trump administration unsuccessfully sought to ban online lottery ticket sales during his first term in office.
