Stakes have become so active in KYC demands ever since there have been some recorded hacks on the site, I am sure that Stakes could have traced a lot of hacks that baffle them back if they already have this mandatory KYC in place before now, most of the hot wallet hacked attacks on stake were all done through accounts tipping which has exposed the former vulnerability in KYC and large withdrawals, I believe players from the United States that is the most cryptocurrency gambling regulated country citizens already have it settled with things like KYC and don't care to hand over a few documents to the casino since they know that they data is secure and account protected, and same also with most another part of the world. Just accept it and play by the demands of the platform if you want to use them.
I actually did not take note of the fact that Stake began their mandatory kyc fight just a few weeks after the hack that happened on the site, good observation and all that you have said is actually correct..
I also believe that if they had gotten all users verified like what they are fighting to achieve at the moment, the hack wouldn't have happened because no body in their right senses would have hacked the casino, stole money and withdrew it through Tipping from one kyced account to another kyced account, they easily would have been caught and sent to jail, except of cause if they passed verification with a fake ID, which is another thing the stake kyc management must give 100 percent attention to, making sure all documents submitted are real and not fake, also making sure the documents belongs to their real owners, not giving room to someone using someone else's document to pass his or her stake kyc verification.
Anyways, happy for the development so far, as long as its what keeps the platform safe from not just further hacks, but also from government harassment in terms of regulation, and as well secure users and their funds on the site.