A Virginia class action lawsuit has alleged that Drake utilised Stake.us as a conduit to artificially inflate streaming numbers for his music across platforms, including Spotify.
Defendants LaShawna Ridley and Tiffany Hines have also named US livestreamer Adin Ross and George Nguyen, an Australian national who allegedly facilitated the botting activities, in a suit filed on 31 December 2025 in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The two women are seeking $5m from the parties for alleged breaches of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations (RICO) Act and consumer protection laws.
“This consumer class action seeks to stop Stake.us—an illegal online gambling platform promoted by Drake, Ross and Nguyen, and used by Drake, Ross and Nguyen to obscure transmissions of money in furtherance of their ongoing music botting campaigns—from continuing to prey upon consumers, and to impose civil penalties on all defendants to deter future misconduct,” the complaint stated.
Music botting
Drake is one of the most-streamed artists worldwide, garnering between 1.7 billion and 2 billion streams each month on Spotify.
However, the defendants claim that Drake and Ross used Stake.us’ internal “tipping” system in conjunction with Nguyen to transfer money with the intention of financing botting measures to inflate Drake’s play statistics on streaming platforms.
Drake’s association with Stake began in 2022, with the lawsuit claiming that he has been paid over $100m by the operator. Ross also previously served as an ambassador for Stake, although he severed ties with the company in 2025 due to a public falling out with Stake’s founders.
The lawsuit points to large-value gifts shared between Drake and Ross, including a $100,000 tip transferred between Drake and Ross in 2023. Drake also gifted Ross a $220,000 car days before the suit was filed.
It also claims that the pair used Stake’s ‘house money’ during streams to make large bets, thereby encouraging their fan base to make similar bets using Stake Cash they purchased themselves.
In response, a Stake spokesperson told iGaming Expert that Stake.us does not have a tipping function as described by the defendants.
“This is a nonsense claim, and we are not concerned about this lawsuit,” the spokesperson added.
Familiar accusations for Stake
Alongside the revelations related to streaming, the language used within the lawsuit echoes that of similar legal action brought against Stake.us in various states across the US.
In each case, defendants claim that Stake.us, which is advertised as a social casino due to restrictions on online casino gaming in the US, is in fact nothing more than an illegal real money gaming platform.
The Virginia suit said: “By masking its real money gambling platform as a free and safe ‘social casino,’ Stake and the defendants create a predatorial gambling environment, deliberately misleading consumers and exposing consumers to the risks of gambling addiction and jeopardising the financial well-being of consumers and their families.”
“Through these and other promotions, Stake has bombarded consumers with advertisements appearing on social media platforms, depicting its games as safe, legal, and fun. But these casino games are illegal in Virginia and throughout the United States, and have inflicted harm on consumers across the Commonwealth who have lost real money chasing gambling wins on the Stake platform.”
Hines and Ridley both claim that they suffered serious harm after Drake’s promotions encouraged them to gamble on Stake.
Similarly, a lawsuit brought by Missouri resident Justin Killham on behalf of a proposed class of residents accused the relationship between Stake and Drake as being “quietly corrosive” and glamorising gambling to “millions of impressionable fans”.
