Drake has been named in a class-action lawsuit tied to the betting industry.
Lawsuit Explained
As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the Canadian-born rapper, born Aubrey Drake Graham, has bet more than $1 billion on Stake.us, a casino and poker website, since 2021. In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Virginia by LaShawnna Ridley and Tiffany Hines — and representing other residents in the state who lost at least one wager through Stake Cash within the last three years — it claims that they were “influenced to participate” and engage in its “predatorial gambling environment,” through Drake’s promotion of the platform, which includes live-streamed gambling sessions and giveaways, according to Rolling Stone.
The lawsuit also mentions as defendants Adin Ross, a popular streamer on Kick, and an Australian national named George Nguyen, who allegedly acted as a “broker and operational facilitator” and receive cryptocurrency through Stake channels. Their efforts were supposedly intended to increase users on the platform with proceeds used to “artificially inflate streaming counts for Drake’s catalog.” Nguyen reportedly was “interfacing with bot vendors, supervising coordinated amplification strategies, and integrating paid ‘clipping’ campaigns” on X.
According to Rolling Stone, the lawsuit alleges the trio were “zealous promoters” and worked with Stake to “prey upon consumers” unlawfully and introduced them to the “substantial risks of gambling addiction,” putting their finances in harm’s way. In exchange, it claims Drake, Ross, and Nguyen received payment and admission to the Stake platform, citing this as a “money transfer conduit.”
The lawsuit claims public posts, chat logs, and leaked communications show Nguyen’s “direct handling of funds through multiple payment platforms, orchestration of narrative surges, and amplification” along with Drake and Ross. The timeline presented dates back to 2022 and “remains an ongoing and imminent threat of racketeering activity.”
“Plaintiffs have been damaged by the false marketing manipulation and abuses of defendants Drake, Ross, and Nguyen, who participate in the marketing of Stake,” the lawsuit read, later adding the plaintiffs were “manipulated into signing onto and transacting on Stake.us based upon defendants’ representations,” according to Rolling Stone.
Additionally, the lawsuit flags Stake’s user-to-user “tipping” feature, stating it has become “an unlimited and wholly unregulated money transmitter that appears to exist outside the oversight of any financial regulator.” Per Next.io, the platform also allows users to buy bundled credits with redeemable currency offered at a 1:1 ratio in U.S. dollars. This allegedly is a problem, because plaintiffs state this enables real-money gambling while the platform claims to be entertainment-only.
The lawsuit states funds from the “tipping” feature had been used to finance artificial inflation of Drake’s music streams and “amplification campaigns” as well as negative content about competitors.
“At the heart of the scheme, Drake — acting directly and through willing and knowledgeable co-conspirators — has deployed automated bots and streaming farms to artificially inflate play counts of his music across major platforms, such as Spotify,” the complaint read, according to Rolling Stone. “This manipulation has suppressed authentic artists and narrowed consumers’ access to legitimate content by undermining the integrity of curated experiences.”
What Plaintiffs Are Seeking
The lawsuit points to violations of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act, racketeering conspiracy, and a pattern of racketeering activity that violates the federal RICO statute. The plaintiffs are seeking class certification, financial compensation for losses, including a higher award under RICO, restitution, disgorgement of profits, and a court order halting Stake.us’s operations in the U.S, Next.io reports.