Drake Involved in New Scandal—Why the Rapper Is Facing RICO Charges for Gambling

Drake, the rapper, singer, and actor, just started the New Year with a string of scandals. He is being sued alongside high-profile streamer Adin Ross and an Australian man known as George Nguyen for allegedly luring unsuspecting players into the high-stakes world of Stake.us, an online gambling site for casino games, which is said to be illegal.

The lawsuit indicated there is a criminal conspiracy in this activity, as the 'house' profits were allegedly invested in fraudulent streaming campaigns to make sure that Drake's songs would continue to dominate global music charts. According to USA Today, the proceeds from the online casinos were used to artificially boost streams of his music, which means they were shockingly manipulating the numbers of streams for the rapper's catalogue.

The RICO Lawsuit Explained

The class action lawsuit against Drake, Ross, and Nguyen was filed on the 31 December 2025 by two consumers, LaShawnna Ridley and Tiffany Hines, in federal court in Virginia, as per Rolling Stone AU. They accused the three men of working with Stake to 'prey upon consumers' and unlawfully exposing them to the risk of gambling addiction and putting their financial well-being in jeopardy, too.

The Stake gambling site is also in the suit since it was the platform used to 'obscure transmissions of money' to fund their alleged 'ongoing music botting campaigns.' They are also being charged for the promotion of illegal gambling and the manipulation of Spotify streams.

High-Stakes Gambling Allegations

Drake is one of the most popular rappers and musicians in the United States, and he was said to have been the public face of Stake as he was often seen sharing clips of multi-million dollar bets on roulette and some sporting events. But in the suit, it was claimed that he was actually working as a partner of the company and not just a mere standard endorser.

The 39-year-old rapper and Ross were said to be receiving payments for the promotion of the platform through a livestreamed gambling event with cash that was provided by Stake itself. The plaintiffs further alleged that the site uses 'Stake Cash' and 'Gold Coins' that have real dollar value and these can be cashed in for cryptocurrency, making the game a real gambling activity.

'Through these and other promotions, Stake has bombarded consumers with advertisements appearing on social media platforms, depicting its games as safe, legal, and fun,' part of the lawsuit reads. 'But these casino games are illegal in Virginia and throughout the United States, and have inflicted harm on consumers across the Commonwealth who have lost real money chasing gambling wins on the Stake platform.'

Chart Manipulation Accusations

While Drake has long been a permanent fixture at the top of the global music charts, new legal allegations suggest his record-breaking records may not be entirely organic. In the lawsuit, it was claimed that his consistent chart-topping songs were only able to maintain the No 1 spot through a calculated manipulation of streaming metrics and not purely through listener demand. The suit mentioned Spotify streaming as an example.

LaShawnna Ridley and Tiffany Hines insisted that Drake was the main architect of a plan that made use of botting services and streaming farms to illegally increase his music's reach not only on Spotify but other music services and charts.