Drake is facing a lawsuit over allegedly using online casino platform Stake.us to artificially inflate streams of his music across major streaming platforms like Spotify.
The lawsuit was filed on December 31, 2025, by law firm Impresa Legal Group on behalf of individuals LaShawnna Ridley and Tiffany Hines, who identify as Stake users.
The complaint, which you can read here, alleges that Drake, alongside streamer Adin Ross, George Nguyen, and Stake operator Sweepsteaks Ltd., used the platform’s “Tipping” feature to obscure payments to bot operators who then generated fake streams of Drake’s music.
The lawsuit read: “At the heart of the scheme, Drake – acting directly and through willing and knowledgeable co-conspirators – has deployed automated bots and streaming farms to artificially inflate play counts of his music across major platforms, such as Spotify.”
“These inauthentic streams, injected via interstate digital pathways, were calibrated to mislead royalty and recommendation engines; manufacture popularity; distort playlists and charts; and divert both value and audience attention. In tandem, this manipulation has suppressed authentic artists and narrowed consumers’ access to legitimate content by undermining the integrity of curated experiences.”
“Drake – acting directly and through willing and knowledgeable co-conspirators – has deployed automated bots and streaming farms to artificially inflate play counts of his music across major platforms, such as Spotify.”
Impresa Legal Group
The lawsuit claims Drake has publicly acknowledged receiving $100 million annually to promote Stake.
According to Stake’s website: “Music sensation, Drake, has been a long-time member of the Stake community. A player storming the high ranks of the VIP program, Drake fell in love with both the platform and the perks associated with our VIP program. It was then that this partnership was formed, based on mutual appreciation between mega-star and product.”
The complaint alleges that Drake used his relationship with Stake to route payments through the platform and use proceeds to artificially inflate streaming counts for his catalog.
The lawsuit claims Nguyen, identified in online forums as “Grand Wizard,” coordinated “botting facilitation and paid amplification” across US-facing platforms and transacted in payments masked through Stake.
In a separate case filed in November, Eric Dwayne Collins, known professionally as rapper RBX, filed a class-action lawsuit against Spotify, alleging the streaming giant has failed to prevent “mass-scale fraudulent streaming” that has caused “massive financial harm” to legitimate artists.
RBX’s lawsuit specifically points to Drake, whom Spotify lists as “the most streamed artist of all time.” In September, Drake became the first artist to exceed 120 billion streams on Spotify, beating Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny.
“These inauthentic streams, injected via interstate digital pathways, were calibrated to mislead royalty and recommendation engines; manufacture popularity; distort playlists and charts; and divert both value and audience attention.”
Impresa Legal Group
According to RBX’s lawsuit, about 37 billion streams attributed to Drake between January 2022 and September 2025 “were inauthentic and appeared to be the work of a sprawling network of bot accounts.”
Meanwhile, the latest case points to public records of transfers between Drake and Ross on Stake including a $100,000 Tipping transfer in 2023. In December 2024, Drake allegedly gave away “large sums of money” by teaming up with Ross and Stake as part of his “Drizzmas Giveaway.” Ross has over 4.59 million subscribers on YouTube.
Most recently in December 2025, Drake announced that he was giving away 10% of his Stake betting wins to a lucky fan. He wrote in an Instagram post on December 19: “Can we end my roughest gambling year on a good note?? I want to MAXWIN and share 10% of it with you. Go to @stake to find out how you can enter to win that pot.”
Days before the lawsuit was filed, Drake gave Ross a $220,000 car, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit also alleges that Stake misrepresents itself as a “social casino” offering a “safe and free gambling experience,” when it actually operates as an “illegal online gambling platform.”
The lawsuit said: “Stake.us preys on consumers in Virginia and nationwide who are lured into real money gambling, exposing consumers to substantial risks of gambling addictions and jeopardizing their and their families’ financial well-being. Each of the Plaintiffs was influenced to participate and to continue to participate after their initial participation on the Stake platform by the online promotional activities of Defendant Drake as viewed by each of the Plaintiffs.”
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