Drake is currently entangled in a new legal dispute in 2026. The Toronto-based rapper has been implicated in a proposed class-action lawsuit in the U.S., accusing him and others of utilizing funds from a gambling platform to conceal money transfers, ultimately boosting his streaming music plays artificially.
The lawsuit revolves around Stake.us, the U.S. counterpart of the online casino operator Stake based in Curaçao, frequently endorsed by Drake on his social media accounts. The legal action asserts that Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Graham, played a central role in the alleged scheme in collaboration with social media influencer Adin Ross. Both individuals purportedly received payments to endorse the platform by gambling with virtual currencies clandestinely provided by Stake.
Notably, the lawsuit’s claims have yet to be substantiated in court, and representatives for Drake and Stake have not promptly responded to comment requests. The plaintiff’s legal team is pushing for a jury trial and seeking a minimum of $5 million in damages and legal costs.
The lawsuit, filed on December 31, 2025, in a Virginia court on behalf of LaShawnna Ridley, Tiffany Hines, and all Stake.us users as plaintiffs, also names George Nguyen as another defendant, suggesting his involvement as a facilitator and operational intermediary. The lawsuit contends that Stake.us functions as an illicit online gambling platform, established to evade restrictions after Stake.com was prohibited from operations in the U.S. Despite being marketed as a “social casino” without involving real money gambling, the site allegedly utilizes “Stake Cash,” exchangeable for cryptocurrency or digital vouchers, effectively transforming it into real currency.
Furthermore, the plaintiffs allege that Drake, Ross, and Nguyen exploit the casino’s “tipping” feature to transfer funds among themselves, some of which are utilized to manipulate streaming services like Spotify. According to the legal documents, their actions were orchestrated to generate fabricated streams of Drake’s music, inflating his popularity, influencing streaming playlists, and misleading royalty and recommendation systems.
Consequently, the lawsuit maintains that their activities have stifled genuine artists and restricted consumers’ access to authentic content by compromising the integrity of curated streaming music experiences.
