Drake accused of using illegal online gambling platform to inflate streaming numbers in new lawsuit

Drake has been accused of promoting an allegedly illegal online gambling platform and using proceeds to artificially inflate his streaming numbers.

A new class action lawsuit has been filed in federal court in Virginia this week that names the rapper, as well as streamer Adin Ross, Australian national George Nguyen and the parent company of Stake, an online casino platform (via Rolling Stone).

The complaint, brought by Virginia resident LaShawnna Ridley and Tiffany Hines, alleges violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and seeks at least $5million (£3.7million) in damages.

The accusers claim that they were drawn to the casino site after viewing Drake’s paid promotions, including livestreamed gambling sessions and giveaways.

Stake is a crypto-based gambling company founded in Australia in 2017, but online casino gambling is illegal in Virginia. The lawsuit alleges that Stake’s US-facing platform Stake.us operates in the state by exploiting a disputed legal loophole.

Drake signed a high-profile endorsement deal with Stake in 2022, reportedly worth $100million (£74.3million) (via Financial Times) The suit alleges that promotional materials in which he has starred have misrepresented Stake as legitimate and low risk, encouraging users to gamble in jurisdictions where online casinos are prohibited.

The plaintiffs also allege that funds routed through Stake were used to finance online bot farms and “amplification campaigns” intended to artificially boost streaming numbers for Drake’s music on platforms such as Spotify.

A representative for Drake has declined to comment on the lawsuit, as have those representing Ross, Nguyen and Stake.

This is not the first legal action to target Drake and Ross’ relationship with Stake. A case filed in Missouri in October accused them of misleading users by presenting Stake.us as a “social casino” rather than an allegedly illegal gambling platform. That case was moved from Missouri state court to federal court last month, and lawyers for the defendants have not responded to requests for comment.

Back in June, Drake shared the colossal amount he’d lost on gambling bets that month alone, revealing he had placed close to $125million (£93million) in bets and lost more than $8million (£6million) in the process.

His bad record at placing money on sporting events also dates back at least as far as 2019, and has even been dubbed the “Drake curse”.

In other news, Drake lost his defamation suit against Universal Music Group in October over Kendrick Lamar’s diss track ‘Not Like Us’. The track enjoyed a streaming spike after the suit was dropped.

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