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Drake has been hit with yet another class-action lawsuit, this time in Virginia, where two consumers allege that the rap superstar, alongside streamer Adin Ross and an Australian man closely tied to Stake.us, used a scheme of rotating funds to promote illegal gambling and boost Drake’s Spotify streams with bots.
As reported by Rolling Stone, the new suit alleges a racketeering conspiracy in which Drake, Ross, and Australian national George Nguyen conspired to “prey upon consumers” and enrich themselves. Let’s break it down.
What Is Stake, and How Is Drake Involved?
Stake.us is a legally-contentious workaround in which real money buys play money, and play money can be converted back into USD. In between, players gamble with that play money, and because it’s arguably not real, Stake has operated in a gray area that critics call a loophole. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill last year to address the dual-currency model.
Drake and Adin Ross have served as high-profile promoters for Stake, appearing in live-streamed gambling sessions and hosting giveaways. The lawsuit alleges they received payment and platform access in exchange for acting as “zealous promoters” who lured consumers into what the plaintiffs call a “predatorial gambling environment.”
Why Is Drake Being Sued for Racketeering?
The lawsuit invokes the federal RICO statute, alleging that Drake, Ross, and Nguyen operated as part of a racketeering conspiracy dating back to 2022. According to the complaint, the three men used Stake’s user-to-user “tipping” feature as what the suit describes as “an unlimited and wholly unregulated money transmitter” to directly transfer funds among themselves.
Those funds, the plaintiffs allege, were then funneled into fraudulent streaming schemes and “amplification campaigns” — including ones that targeted Drake’s competitors with disparaging content. The suit also claims violations of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.
How Is Drake Tied to Bot Farms?
The complaint alleges that Drake “deployed automated bots and streaming farms to artificially inflate play counts of his music across major platforms, such as Spotify.” This manipulation, the suit claims, “suppressed authentic artists and narrowed consumers’ access to legitimate content by undermining the integrity of curated experiences.”
George Nguyen, identified in the suit as the owner of an Instagram news-clipping account, allegedly served as the operational hub for these efforts — receiving cryptocurrency through Stake, interfacing with bot vendors, and coordinating amplification strategies across social media platforms including X.
Is This the First Lawsuit Against Drake Over Stake or Spotify Streams?
No and no. Last October, a Missouri man filed a similar proposed class action against Drake, Ross, and Stake’s parent company, Sweepsteaks Limited. That case was recently moved from Missouri state court to federal court.
Meanwhile, the bot farm allegations echo claims made in a separate class-action lawsuit against Spotify, filed in November 2025, which alleges a “substantial” portion of Drake’s 37 billion streams on the platform were generated by a network of bot accounts. That suit, brought by Long Beach rapper RBX, claims the fraudulent activity siphoned royalties from legitimate artists and demands damages in excess of $5 million.
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