Edit: I asked him and he got the same email as you, but with the 250$ bonus if he does it in the next couple of days.

Surprising step by Stake. Looks like they have decided to make the KYC verification mandatory for all the users. I have to complete the level 2 KYC verification before the 1st January of 2025 to continue my betting activity at Stake.
And they have indeed offered me $250 if I complete this before 7th October. I think the bonus amount is same for all the users. Or it could based on users VIP rank.
It is better to do the KYC at once instead of doing it step by step. And I believed even in the registration form in Stake there are some personal information were asked to complete the process and that is the first verification. And that verification is okay because ful name, email and phone number are asked there. And asking KYC in all the time is a delay tactics when you are in the mode to play games.