Rapper Drake, YouTuber Adin Ross Named In Another Stake Class-Action Suit, RICO Invoked

Canadian rapper Drake and professional livestreamer Adin Ross have been named with Stake’s American sweepstakes casino site in another class-action suit allegeding they promote harmful gambling. But this one comes with a twist.

The complaint, filed on Dec. 31 in the Eastern District of Virginia (Alexandria Division), differs from one filed against Stake in October in Missouri by asserting that Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act laws were violated. The complaint accuses the rapper of using Stake.us as a “money transfer conduit” to funnel funds to Australian personality George Nguyen for the purpose of purchasing streams of Drake’s music, thus inflating its value on platforms like Spotify. The plaintiffs also contend that Drake’s celebrity helped influence them to participate in what court documents refer to as Stake’s “predatorial gambling environment” for his and the company’s financial benefit.

The complaint contends that Stake, Drake, Ross, and Nguyen have been violating both the Virginia Consumer Protection Act and federal RICO laws since 2022, when Drake began promoting the gambling platform on his social media platforms.

The lawsuit alleges that Stake pays Drake $100 million a year and, just as the Missouri suit claims, that it provides him with free gambling funds.

No criminal charges have been filed.

Plaintiffs Tiffany Hines and LaShawnna Ridley are seeking $5 million in damages and demand a jury trial.

Class action trend vs. Drake continues

The Virginia suit continues a recent trend of class action focused on celebrities endorsing unregulated gambling platforms. Ryan Seacrest was named in such a suit against sweepstakes site Chumba Casino last May, but the case was eventually dropped.

“What I think can be really interesting, and you see this in a couple of cases, is that there could be liability for people who are involved, people who facilitate the sweepstakes casinos,” John Feldman, a partner in the Entertainment and Media Industry Group at law firm Reed Smith told Casino Reports after the Missouri filing. “To me, that is really interesting, whether platforms and/or other parties who may be involved, if there is the potential for platform liability or facilitator liability that is coming up in this area.”

But this suit goes beyond its predecessors in alleging that Stake.us was a participant in fraud outside of its gambling business.

From the complaint: “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. … This manipulation has suppressed authentic artists and narrowed consumers’ access to legitimate content by undermining the integrity of curated experiences.”

Drake, Ross, and Nguyen have been ordered by the Eastern District of Virginia to answer the complaint within 21 days. They have not responded publicly to the suit.

The United States-facing version of the Curacao-based online casino operates under a sweepstakes model, with bettors able to play for free or by using Stake Cash — which has redeemable monetary value and is available through promotions, rewards, or game play.

Stake.us lists 19 states, including California, Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania, as “excluded territories.”