Drake’s relationship with the online “social casino” Stake.us is facing fresh legal scrutiny. The rapper has been named in a federal lawsuit that claims he helped promote an illegal real-money online casino and used it to quietly move money tied to a scheme aimed at artificially boosting music streaming numbers.
Plaintiffs LaShawnna Ridley and Tiffany Hines filed a class action lawsuit last week in a federal court in Virginia against Stake.us’s parent company, Sweepsteaks Limited, as well as Drake, online streamer Adin Ross, and George Nguyen, an alleged facilitator of the botting scheme.
The lawsuit claims the defendants misrepresented Stake while being paid to promote it, inflicting “harm on consumers across the Commonwealth who have lost real money chasing gambling wins on the Stake platform.”
It also accuses Drake, Ross, and Nguyen of transferring “money between and among themselves, using Stake’s ‘Tipping’ program.”
The plaintiffs allege the conduct violates the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and Virginia consumer protection laws. The plaintiffs are asking for at least $5 million, along with refunds for users, the return of profits they say were improperly earned, court orders to stop the alleged conduct, and additional damages under federal law.
“Stake.us preys on consumers in Virginia and nationwide who are lured into real money gambling, exposing consumers to substantial risks of gambling addictions and jeopardizing their and their families’ financial well-being,” the lawsuit claims.
A major crux of the case centers on how Stake.us operates. The company describes itself as a social casino where users can buy what it calls “Gold Coins” to play digital casino games like slots and poker. Those coins cannot be redeemed for cash, but users also receive “Stake Cash” through bundled purchases of Gold Coins, daily login bonuses, and promotions.
Once users meet certain conditions, like wagering their Stake Cash several times, it can be redeemed for real money. The lawsuit argues this structure makes Stake.us indistinguishable from real-money online gambling, which is illegal in Virginia and many other states.
The complaint also alleges Drake and Ross were paid by Stake to promote the site and participated in livestreams showing them gambling with large sums of money provided by the company itself.
“In other words, though Drake and Ross purported to be gambling with their own Stake Cash, it was in fact provided to them by the house,” the lawsuit reads.
Drake signed an endorsement deal with Stake in 2022 that was reportedly worth $100 million per year. Drake later publicly complained about issues withdrawing money from the platform, though an Instagram post from October indicated that the beef may have since been squashed.
Beyond the gambling allegations, the lawsuit further claims Drake, Ross, and Nguyen transferred proceeds among themselves via Stake’s tipping feature and used that money to fund bots that artificially boosted Drake’s music streaming numbers on platforms like Spotify.
This is not the first lawsuit challenging Drake’s relationship with Stake.us. A separate complaint filed in October in Missouri also names Drake and Ross as defendants and similarly accuses them of misrepresenting Stake.us’s alleged gambling operations.
Stake.us and representatives for Drake did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s requests for comment.
Read the full article here
