Drake faces RICO lawsuit alleging illegal gambling promotion
Drake has been named in a RICO lawsuit alleging illegal gambling promotion and streaming manipulation. Here’s what the case claims.
Grammy-winning rapper Drake has been named in a civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) lawsuit filed in Virginia that alleges he was involved in promoting an illegal online gambling operation and using proceeds from that scheme to artificially inflate his music streaming numbers. The case, brought by two consumers, represents a rare instance of a major recording artist facing broad claims that tie celebrity promotion, digital gambling and alleged music industry manipulation together.
The complaint, filed on behalf of LaShawnna Ridley and Tiffany Hines in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, names Drake (Aubrey Drake Graham) alongside livestreamer Adin Ross, Australian associate George Nguyen, and the online gambling platform Stake.us. It alleges violations of the federal RICO statute as well as the Virginia Consumer Protection Act, and seeks at least $5 million in damages plus a jury trial.
At the heart of the lawsuit is Stake.us, a version of the online casino and sports betting site Stake.com that operates with virtual tokens rather than traditional currency. The plaintiffs claim that the platform misrepresented itself as a safe “social casino” while actually facilitating real-money gambling in states where such operations are banned, including Virginia. They allege that Drake, Ross and Nguyen used the site’s “tipping” feature, a user-to-user transfer system that plaintiffs describe as “wholly unregulated”, to move funds among themselves and to bot operators to finance campaigns that artificially increased Drake’s music streams across major platforms like Spotify.
According to the lawsuit, those botting efforts involved “automated bots and streaming farms” designed to generate fraudulent play counts, which the complaint says were intended to “fabricate popularity,” “distort recommendation algorithms,” “disparage competitors and music label executives,” and “mislead royalty and recommendation engines.” The plaintiffs argue this conduct not only misled consumers but also harmed other artists by suppressing authentic streams and narrowing listener access to legitimate music.
The legal filing also points to publicly documented transfers between Drake and Ross via Stake’s tipping system, including transactions of significant sums such as a reported $100,000 transfer in 2023. In December 2025, the complaint notes, Drake made headlines by giving Ross a luxury vehicle reportedly worth $220,000, a detail the plaintiffs say supports their case about coordinated financial conduct.
Drake has been a high-profile promoter of Stake since at least 2022, when reports suggested he received around $100 million per year from the company in endorsement deals. In addition to sponsored livestreamed gambling sessions, Drake ran promotions and giveaways tied to the platform, including a widely publicised “Drizzmas Giveaway” in late 2025. Stake and Drake’s legal representatives have not publicly commented on the RICO lawsuit.
This case adds to a series of legal entanglements surrounding both Drake and Stake. Previous lawsuits in other states, including Missouri and New Mexico, have also accused the parties of deceptive marketing and gambling violations, while separate suits have alleged Drake’s music benefited from streaming manipulation. However, it remains to be seen how courts will respond to the RICO claims and whether the plaintiffs can substantiate their allegations in full.