Rapper and morally upstanding citizen Drake has been named in a new lawsuit, along with streamer Adin Ross, alleging a racketeering scheme being run through online gambling platform Stake. Drake and Ross are being accused – along with George Nguyen of Australia – of funneling profits to invest in bot farms, which boost Drake's streaming counts.

Online gambling with real money is legal on a state-by-state basis in the U.S.; therefore, Stake is not permitted to operate in several states. However, Stake sells "play money" which includes tokens, and these tokens can later be converted into cash. Even if Drake and Ross live in areas where cash-based online gambling is permitted, they could be found guilty for promoting the practice if a judge condemns Stake's "play money" legal loophole.

Stake has a "tipping" feature, which lets users transfer funds from account to account. The lawsuit also declares that Nguyen, Drake, and Ross used the function to quietly shift proceeds in order to buy bots and boost Drake's streaming numbers. Furthermore, the trio's usage of the "tipping" ability funded further promotion of Stake by Nguyen.

The two plaintiffs, Tiffany Hines and LaShawnna Ridley, have filed the lawsuit in Virginia, a state that has outlawed real-money online gambling. They're seeking a minimum of $5 million in damages. Last October, a similar complaint filed in Missouri condemned Drake and Ross for promoting Stake as a benign "social casino," as opposed to an unlawful gambling haven.

Stake, formed in Australia in 2017, has had Drake as an endorser since 2022, reportedly paying him $100 million per year to promote the business.