January 2, 2026
Drake Named In Civil RICO Lawsuit For Alleged Promotion Of Illegal Gambling To Boost Music Streams
Drake and streamer Adin Ross are named in a federal RICO lawsuit alleging they promoted the Stake gambling platform to artificially boost Drake’s music streams.
Drake is finding himself back in the legal hot seat after being named in a federal class-action RICO lawsuit that accuses him, streamer Adin Ross, and the online gambling platform Stake, of using the site’s tipping feature to artificially inflate streams of his music.
According to a series of tweets from Breakfast Club host Loren LoRosa, the lawsuit claims the defendants used Stake’s “tipping” feature to send each other money, then allegedly funneled those funds to artificially boost Drake’s streams across major music platforms and digital streaming services.
“In addition, through Stake’s Tipping function, Defendants have financed their combined artificial streaming (“botting”) to create fraudulent streams of Drake’s music; fabricate popularity; disparage competitors and music label executives; distort recommendation algorithms; and distribute financing for all of the foregoing, while concealing the flow of funds,” the lawsuit states.
The class-action lawsuit, filed in federal court in Virginia by LaShawnna Ridley and Tiffany Hines, alleges that Drake, Adin Ross, and Australian national George Nguyen worked with Stake to “prey on consumers,” exposing them to the serious risks of gambling addiction and threatening their financial stability. The plaintiffs claim they were persuaded to participate in Stake’s “predatory gambling environment” after watching Drake’s paid promotions for the platform, including livestreamed gambling sessions and giveaways.
The lawsuit claims the defendants used Stake’s user-to-user “tipping” feature to transfer money directly among themselves, describing the system as an “unlimited and completely unregulated money transmitter” operating outside financial oversight. It further alleges that those funds were then used to bankroll fraudulent music streams for Drake and launch “amplification campaigns” that at times pushed disparaging content about competitors.
The plaintiffs also accuse Drake of using the same botting tactics he recently alleged in his own lawsuit against Spotify over Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” claiming that “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,” the suit states.
The lawsuit claims the scheme began in 2022 and “remains an ongoing and imminent threat of racketeering activity.” It accuses Drake of knowingly allowing his alleged co-conspirators to disguise encrypted transfers as giveaways that weren’t actually available to the public. The filing cites a $100,000 tip exchanged between Ross and Drake in 2023, along with Drake’s 2024 “Drizzmas” giveaway stream with Adin Ross, as examples of the defendants allegedly cycling tips among themselves to fuel botting and paid-engagement tactics.
The lawsuit aims to represent Virginia residents who lost money gambling with Stake Cash over the past three years, alleging violations of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act and a racketeering scheme under federal RICO law.
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