A class action lawsuit filed in Virginia accuses Stake.us and rapper Drake of running an illegal gambling ring. The suit also alleges Drake used the platform to fund bot networks to inflate his music streaming numbers.
Stake’s US-facing platform is the target of a new federal class action lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Virginia on 31 December. The complaint names Stake.us, Canadian rapper Drake, content creator Adin Ross, and associate George Nguyen as defendants in a coordinated scheme involving illegal gambling and financial misconduct.
The lawsuit, brought by two Virginia residents, alleges that Stake.us operates as an unlawful online casino designed to circumvent federal and state gambling laws. While the platform markets itself as a "social casino" offering free play, the plaintiffs argue this is a sham. They assert that the platform’s "Stake Cash" - which can be purchased in bundles and redeemed for cryptocurrency - is effectively pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, facilitating real-money wagering in violation of the law.
The plaintiffs invoke the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, accusing the defendants of forming an enterprise to conduct illegal gambling and deceptive trade practices.
A central pillar of the complaint is the alleged deception by the platform’s high-profile promoters. The lawsuit claims that Drake and Adin Ross were paid to livestream gambling sessions using funds provided by Stake rather than their own capital.
Plaintiffs argue this created a false impression of legitimacy and profitability, encouraging millions of followers to wager under false pretences. The suit suggests these broadcasts were not genuine gambling sessions but scripted marketing events where the risk was entirely borne by the house, not the influencer. This echoes similar arguments made in a separate case filed against Stake in Missouri in October, suggesting a growing wave of litigation against the sweepstakes model.
In a novel twist, the lawsuit accuses Drake of using Stake.us to manipulate the music industry. The plaintiffs allege that the rapper used the platform’s internal tipping and transfer features to launder money and finance automated bot networks.
According to the filing, payments routed through Stake.us were used to pay third-party operators to artificially inflate play counts of Drake’s music on major digital streaming platforms. The suit argues that the platform’s design allowed these high-value transfers - disguised as "tips" or giveaways - to bypass traditional financial scrutiny, effectively masking the flow of funds used to distort music charts and royalty calculations.
This lawsuit represents a significant escalation in the war against the "sweepstakes" casino model. By invoking RICO statutes, the plaintiffs are not just suing for refunds; they are aiming for treble damages (triple the actual damages), which raises the financial stakes exponentially for the defendants.
The timing is critical. With states like Michigan and New York already issuing cease-and-desist orders or bans against prediction markets and sweepstakes operators, the federal courts are now becoming the primary battleground. If a federal judge rules that Stake’s dual-currency system is indeed a "sham" designed solely to evade gambling laws, it could trigger a domino effect that collapses the entire sweepstakes vertical in the US.
The allegations regarding Drake and streaming farms add a layer of complexity that extends beyond gambling. If evidence surfaces that unregulated gambling wallets were used to manipulate Spotify or Apple Music data, Drake could face scrutiny from music industry bodies and federal regulators, completely separate from the gaming context. It turns a gambling compliance issue into a potential music industry scandal.
