Drake and Adin Ross charged with organized crime for promoting the cryptocurrency casino Stake

Source: PortaldoBitcoin Original Title: Drake is sued for organized crime for promoting cryptocurrency casino Stake Original Link: Pop icon and rapper Drake is at the center of a new class action filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The lawsuit alleges that he used the tip feature on the cryptocurrency casino site Stake to hide financial transactions related to bot campaigns in music streams.

The class action, filed on December 31, 2025, also includes popular streamer Adin Ross and George Nguyen — an Australian citizen who allegedly facilitated bot activities — claiming illegalities against all named defendants for actions violating the Organized Crime Influence Law (RICO), commonly used in organized crime cases.

“This consumer class action seeks to prevent Stake.us — an illegal online gambling platform promoted by Drake, Ross, and Nguyen, and used by them to hide money transfers supporting their ongoing music bot campaigns — from continuing to exploit consumers, and to impose civil penalties on all defendants to deter future unlawful conduct.”

The class action filed by Stake.us users LaShawnna Ridley and Tiffany Hines aims to represent all Virginia residents who created an account on Stake.us — a “social casino” offered by Stake’s parent company for residents in the United States, where their main offerings are illegal.

It also seeks to represent any U.S. residents who created an account and purchased casino tokens called Gold Coins, which were grouped with Stake Cash — redeemable for cryptocurrencies — and those who lost bets with Stake Cash in the past three years.

“Stake.us was created and marketed to U.S. customers as a ‘social casino’ that allegedly does not allow ‘real money bets,’ to circumvent U.S. federal and Virginia state gambling regulations,” the complaint states.

“Attempting, unsuccessfully, to hide behind the facade of a ‘safe and free gaming experience,’ Stake.us misleads regulators and consumers; in reality, it operates as an illegal online casino.”

According to the complaint, Drake and Ross — who are paid to promote the casino — wagered large sums of money provided by Stake on the platform and, along with Nguyen, transferred money between themselves via the platform’s tip feature. The document describes this feature as “an unlimited and completely unregulated money transmitter that appears to operate outside the supervision of any financial regulator.”

They also used this feature to fund bot practices that inflated Drake’s music streaming statistics, alleges the complaint.

The plaintiffs, on behalf of the class, requested damages of at least US$ 5,000,000 and demanded a jury trial.

“The plaintiffs and the class are Stake.us users who were deceived by Stake.us’s false claims that the site is legal, harmless, and safe, when in fact it is neither legal, harmless, nor safe,” the complaint continues.

“Stake.us exploits consumers in Virginia and across the country, who are drawn to real money gambling, exposing them to substantial risks of gambling addiction and jeopardizing their financial well-being and that of their families.”

This is not the first lawsuit against Drake and Ross for promoting Stake. In October, a lawsuit filed in a Missouri county court alleged that the duo promoted Stake.us “under deeply fraudulent pretexts,” exposing young consumers to financial risks and gambling addiction.