Global superstar Drake and popular American livestreamer Adin Ross are at the centre of a major US civil lawsuit, accused of orchestrating a scheme to artificially boost the rapper's music streams using funds from an online casino.
The Core Allegations: A Racketeering and Fraud Scheme
The class action, filed in a US court this week, alleges that Drake and Ross used money from the Curacao-licensed online casino Stake.com to pay for automated streams, known as 'bots', on music platforms like Spotify. The lawsuit claims this was done to fraudulently inflate Drake's streaming royalties and overall popularity.
Two women from Virginia are leading the suit, seeking $5 million in damages from Stake, Drake, Ross, and an Australian internet personality named George Nguyen. They allege violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and consumer protection laws.
Court documents state that Stake's anonymised tipping system allowed Drake to funnel millions of dollars in gambling winnings to Nguyen. Nguyen, who operates under online aliases including 'grandwizardchatn****', is alleged to have then converted the funds to pay bot vendors for the fake streams on behalf of Drake and Ross.
Stake's Controversial Role and Celebrity Promotions
Stake.com is a globally operating online casino officially banned in dozens of countries, including the US, UK, and Australia. Its US-facing site, Stake.us, operates using a 'sweepstakes' model where users play with virtual tokens, some purchased with real money and later withdrawn as cryptocurrency.
The lawsuit alleges this anonymised design was key to facilitating the alleged scheme, which it claims dates back to 2022 and represents an "ongoing and imminent threat of racketeering activity". It further accuses Stake, alongside Drake and Ross, of deliberately misleading consumers into believing the platform was legal and harmless.
Drake has been a high-profile promoter for Stake since 2022, sharing posts on Instagram and the Easygo-owned livestreaming platform, Kick. In one June post, he revealed he had gambled $124.5 million and lost $8.2 million in a single month. The lawsuit claims Stake has paid Drake as much as $100 million a year and provided free gambling credit to both him and Ross.
Wider Fallout and Regulatory Scrutiny
The lead plaintiffs, Tiffany Hines and LaShawnna Ridley, claim they suffered serious financial harm and addiction vulnerabilities after being encouraged to gamble on Stake by Drake's promotions. This case follows a similar lawsuit filed by a Missouri man in October 2023, which Ross dismissed at the time as "bullshit".
Stake.us faces separate legal challenges in multiple US states over its operational legality. Its Australian parent company, Easygo, has previously stated it "will vigorously defend" such claims.
The controversy also touches Kick, the livestreaming platform co-founded in Melbourne by Stake's billionaire co-founder, Ed Craven. Ross recently moved to a rival casino, Rainbet, but stated he would continue streaming on Kick due to his friendship with Craven.
It is important to note that no criminal charges have been filed in relation to these civil allegations. Representatives for Drake, Ross, Nguyen, and Stake were contacted for comment regarding the lawsuit.
