Drake Hit with RICO Lawsuit for Alleged Online Casino Scheme
Toronto-born rapper Drake has been named in a new federal class-action RICO lawsuit accusing him of promoting an illegal online gambling platform and using proceeds from that enterprise to artificially inflate his music streaming numbers.
The complaint, filed December 31 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, was brought on behalf of Virginia residents LaShawnna Ridley and Tiffany Hines and seeks at least $5 million in damages.
According to the lawsuit, Drake (Aubrey Drake Graham), along with live streamer Adin Ross and Australian associate George Nguyen, actively promoted the “social casino” site Stake.us — the U.S. arm of the global e-casino Stake — despite it being banned in many states. The plaintiffs claim the platform used a dual-currency system that effectively facilitated real-money gambling while misleading users about its legality and exposing them to predatory betting environments.
The legal filing also alleges that revenue and “tipping” transfers from Stake.us were then funneled into automated streaming campaigns, including bot farms, to artificially boost Drake’s play counts on major music platforms. The complaint goes on to describe this activity as a racketeering conspiracy, asserting that the group “distorted recommendation algorithms” and misrepresented Drake’s popularity for financial gain.
Stake has dismissed the claims as “nonsense” and says it is unconcerned by the lawsuit, while neither Drake nor Ross have offered public comment.
