Drake, Adin Ross & Stake Sued in MO, NM for ‘Deceptive’ Practices

New lawsuits against rapper Drake, Adin Ross and the owner of online gambling platform Stake allege that they have promoting an illegal and fraudulent gambling scheme. The suits accuse them of glamorizing online gambling while misleading fans, some of them teenagers.

Drake has a highly publicized partnership with Stake, which operates a separate website for U.S. users, Stake.us, that it calls a “social casino” on which users play games using digital coins. The lawsuit accuses Stake of bypassing gambling laws on Stake.us by bundling user purchases of “gold coins,” which have no real-world value, with a bonus of “Stake Cash,” which can be gambled and then cashed in for cryptocurrency, which the suit says is a “clear vehicle for real-money gambling.”

When he posts about placing big bets, the Missouri lawsuit claims, it's not his money, but house money. So any reported losses are part of a marketing tactic designed to draw attention. The first lawsuit was filed by a Missouri man who claims he lost money on Stake because of deceptive practices by Drake, online influencer Adin Ross and Stake.

Stake is promoted regularly on Drake's Instagram account, which has 142 million followers who can watch him wager enormous sums, creating what the lawsuit calls the "Drake effect," boosting Stake's popularity among younger, impressionable audiences who admire his lifestyle.

"Drake's role as Stake's unofficial mascot is quietly corrosive," the lawsuit says. "He's glamorizing the platform to millions of impressionable fans, many of whom treat his wild betting habits like gospel… The civil complaint here is for violations of Missouri gambling law and other typical civil remedies that may or may not be influenced by how many people have access to it or how Drake goes about advertising the product."

New lawsuit in New Mexico

Drake faces a second legal battle for his involvement with Stake after two New Mexico residents filed a class-action lawsuit on October 29. The complaint mirrors another one filed in Missouri just two days before. Both claim the platform operates an illegal online casino disguised as a “social casino.”

The complaint, which was first spotlighted on X by gaming attorney Daniel Wallach, states that the platform markets itself as a “social casino” that does not permit real-money gambling. However, in reality, it’s alleged to be a “virtual clone” of Stake.com, with a dual-token system in which “Gold Coins” (non-redeemable) purchases award bonus of “Stake Cash” (redeemable at a 1:1 exchange rate with USD).

The complaint alleges that Drake and influencer Adin Ross were each paid “millions of dollars yearly” to livestream gambling on Stake. That way, they normalize gambling behavior and draw younger audiences. The Missouri filing included similar allegations.

This New Mexico lawsuit is the latest in a growing wave of suits targeting Stake and other sweepstakes casinos. Wallach has estimated that there are 80+ active lawsuits against these unregulated platforms.

Drake's previous Stake scandals

Earlier this year, Drake appeared to lose $800,000 betting on the NBA Finals and shared a screenshot showing that he’d lost over $8 million in that month. He then posted an Instagram story with text saying that gambling addiction is “a lie” created by betting platforms like Stake (his own partner) to keep players losing.

Drake’s frequent massive bets and dismissive attitude could be red flags of at-risk gambling behaviors. In addition, there are claims (including legal ones now, as detailed above) that he may not be wagering with his own real money, complicating how fans perceive his content and claims.