Superstar rapper Drake has been accused in a federal RICO class action lawsuit of operating an online betting casino. Stake.us to get more plays of your music on major streaming platforms.
Drake, along with online influencer Adin Ross and another alleged co-conspirator named George Nguyen, are also accused of using the site's internal translation features to hide how money was used to fund the alleged fraud, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on behalf of two Virginia residents.
“The scheme involved Drake, acting directly and through willing and knowledgeable co-conspirators, using automated bots and streaming farms to artificially inflate the number of plays of his music on major platforms such as Spotify,” the lawsuit states.
Their goal, according to the lawsuit, was to “create popularity” and “distort playlists and charts.”
No one has been criminally charged over the allegations in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit, which also names Stake.us and parent company Sweepstakes Limited as defendants, was filed as Drake (real name Aubrey Drake Graham) was preparing to release a new album called “Iceman.”
Drake too brand representative for both Stake.us and its parent company Stake.com. He has reportedly signed an endorsement deal with the company in 2022. worth at least $100 million per year, the Financial Times reported, citing two people familiar with the details of the deal.
Ross is a controversial online streamer on the Kick platform who made headlines in December when egged on Los Angeles Rams star wide receiver Puka Nacua in an anti-Semitic landing dance that ended with the athlete looking into the camera and rubbing his hands. Nacua later apologized: stating that he was unaware of the anti-Semitic nature of the dance.
Nguyen is described in court documents as an “Australian citizen”.
“Nguyen acted as an intermediary and transaction broker, alternately converting Stake-based cryptocurrency into cash or receiving cash from the proceeds transferred to Stake in cryptocurrency,” the lawsuit states.
According to the lawsuit, it was Nguyen who “oversaw the coordinated amplification strategies.”
NBC News was unable to find contact information for Nguyen. But NBC News reached out to Drake, Ross and Stake by phone and email for comment.
The lawsuit against Drake and others was filed Wednesday on behalf of two Virginia residents and all users of Stake.us, which the suit calls “an American storefront for Stake.com” designed to “circumvent applicable U.S. and Commonwealth of Virginia federal gaming regulations.”
It says Drake and his alleged co-conspirators hid their money movements by using the site's user-to-user tipping feature, which the suit describes as “an unrestricted and completely unregulated money transfer system that appears to exist outside the oversight of any financial regulator.”
Drake, Ross and others were charged in another lawsuit filed on October 27, 2025, in Jackson County District Court in Missouri on charges of promoting illegal Internet gambling activities. Online gambling also illegal in Missouri.
“Stake.us is a virtual clone of Stake.com, rebranded to mislead Missouri regulators and consumers into believing that it offers a harmless gaming experience rather than an illegal gaming platform,” this lawsuit states.
The Missouri case is scheduled to go to trial March 20.
In response to the pop culture site Difficult at the time, a spokesperson for Stake denied the allegations.
Drake, who had an audience, long-running feud with rival rapper Kendrick Lamaralso indicted along with Ross in a similar lawsuit was filed on October 29. v. them and Sweepstakes Limited in the 2nd District Court of New Mexico. The lawsuit alleges they promote illegal online gambling in the state.
Online gambling is also illegal in New Mexico, according to the data. State Gaming Control Board.
In October Ross dismissed the Missouri and New Mexico lawsuits in an online post, calling them a “fucking bull.”
