Drake and American online livestreamer Adin Ross have been accused in a US civil case of using online casino money to pay for automated streams in a bid to artificially inflate the singer’s royalties and popularity on music streaming platforms. No one has been charged criminally with regard to the allegations in the lawsuit.
Global e-casino Stake has dismissed the claims as “nonsense” and said it was “not concerned” about the lawsuit.
Two women in the US state Virginia have filed a class action seeking US$5m from e-casino Stake.com, the celebrities and another Australian internet personality for alleged breaches of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (Rico) and consumer protection laws.
Stake.com, a Curacao-licensed global e-casino, is officially banned in dozens of countries including the US, Australia and the UK.
Its American arm, Stake.us, does not allow users to gamble directly with real money. Wagerers play with e-tokens – some are provided for free while others can be purchased and withdrawn as cryptocurrency.
The class action, filed on Wednesday, alleges Stake.us’s anonymised design enabled Drake to fund purchases of automated streams, artificially inflating his royalties and popularity on music streaming platforms, including Spotify.
Court documents allege Drake and Ross hid the financing from public view by transferring gambling winnings via Stake’s anonymised tip system to an Australian man, named in court documents as George Nguyen, who allegedly operates the online accounts grandwizardchatn**** and Grandavious.
A Stake spokesperson said on Monday US time: “For the record, Stake.us does not have a tipping function that could be used in this way. This is a nonsense claim and we are not concerned about this lawsuit.”
Nguyen, who has posted promoting Drake and the gambling platform, allegedly traded between the Stake proceeds, cash and cryptocurrency to pay bot vendors for artificial music streams on behalf of Drake and Ross.
The lawsuit alleges Drake transferred millions of dollars as part of the scheme, including in the form of $100,000 and $10,000 tips to Ross. The lawsuit also alleges public posts, chat logs and leaked communications prove Nguyen’s role.
The class action claims the scheme dates back to 2022 and “remains an ongoing and imminent threat of racketeering activity”. Drake, Ross and Nguyen were contacted for comment.
The suit also alleges Stake, with Drake and Ross, deliberately misled consumers to believe the platform was legal and harmless.
The lead plaintiffs, Tiffany Hines and LaShawnna Ridley, alleged they suffered serious harm after Drake’s promotions encouraged them to gamble on Stake. The platform had financially harmed users by encouraging them to gamble illegally and leaving them vulnerable to addiction, the class action claimed.
A Missouri man in October brought a similar case against Stake, Drake and Ross, which Ross at the time dismissed as “bullshit”.
Stake.us faces lawsuits in other US states claiming it has operated illegally. Responding to an August case brought by the Los Angeles city attorney, Stake’s Australian parent company, Easygo, told The Australian: “We reject allegations that have been made in the media in relation to this potential claim and will vigorously defend this and all such claims.”
Since 2022, Drake has promoted Stake on Instagram and on Kick, the Easygo-owned livestreaming platform, including a post in June revealing he had gambled $124.5m and lost $8.2m in a month.
“Gotta share the other side of gambling… Losses are so fried right now,” he captioned the story post.
“I hope I can post a big win for you all soon.”
The rapper in December promoted hours-long livestreams on Kick with a post captioned: “Can we end my roughest gambling year on a good note?? I want to MAXWIN and share 10% of it with you. Go to Stake to find out how you can enter to win that pot.”
The lawsuit alleges Stake has paid Drake $100m a year and provided free gambling credit to the rapper and Ross.
Ross, a 25-year-old internet personality and professional livestreamer, moved to a rival e-casino, Rainbet, and quit Stake in 2025, telling viewers he would continue streaming on Kick due to his friendship with its 30-year-old founder Ed Craven.
Craven, hailed by Forbes as Australia’s youngest billionaire with an estimated $2.8bn fortune (A$4.2bn), co-founded Kick in Melbourne in 2022 with Bijan Tehrani after their success with Stake. The platform drew regulatory attention in August after hosting a livestream during which a man died in France.
• In Australia, Gambling Help Online is available on 1800 858 858. The National Debt Helpline is at 1800 007 007. In the UK, support for problem gambling can be found via the NHS National Problem Gambling Clinic on 020 7381 7722, or GamCare on 0808 8020 133. In the US, call the National Council on Problem Gambling at 800-GAMBLER or text 800GAM
