Drake and Adin Ross Sued Over Alleged ‘Deeply Fraudulent’ Crypto Casino Promotion

As the saying goes, just when one Drake lawsuit fades, another emerges.

This week, while the Canadian rapper was battling to revive a dismissed defamation case linked to Kendrick Lamar’s diss track Not Like Us, he was hit with a class-action lawsuit over his longstanding promotion of Stake, a crypto-fueled online casino.

Filed in a Missouri county court by Stake.us user Justin Killham, the suit names Aubrey Graham—better known as Drake—and internet personality Adin Ross as defendants, accusing them of promoting the site under “deeply fraudulent pretenses.” According to the filing, their actions exposed younger consumers to “significant risks of financial ruin, psychological distress, and gambling addiction.”

Stake.us markets itself as a “social casino,” where users gamble with purchased in-game “Gold Coins” that ostensibly have no real monetary value. In parallel, the site offers bundles of “Stake Cash,” a digital currency redeemable at a one-to-one ratio for U.S. dollars and usable in betting.

> “Despite Defendant’s claim that players are purchasing harmless virtual tokens, the pricing structure and gameplay reveal that Stake Cash—not Gold Coins—is the real product Stake is selling to entice players into engaging in real-money gambling,” the lawsuit states. > > “The Gold Coins merely serve to deceive regulators and lure players under the guise of ‘safe’ entertainment.”

The complaint emphasizes that Drake’s years-long promotion of Stake, reportedly earning him millions annually, has fueled the site’s popularity—particularly among younger audiences.

Drake has often livestreamed himself wagering enormous sums on Stake games and promoted the platform across his social media channels. The suit alleges that, on several occasions, he and Ross were not betting their own funds, but “house money” provided by Stake—a practice that, if undisclosed, could further violate Missouri law.

> “\[Drake’s\] public wagering of enormous sums on Stake.com has created what industry experts call the ‘Drake Effect’—massively boosting the Stake brand’s popularity, especially among younger, impressionable audiences who admire Drake’s glamorous lifestyle,” the filing reads.

Adding fuel to the fire, Drake has also publicly shared receipts of large Bitcoin-based bets on sporting events. He has suffered high-profile losses, including a total of $1 million wagered across last year’s NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Finals.

The case marks a potential departure from prior celebrity crypto controversies, with plaintiffs asserting that Drake knowingly promoted an allegedly illegal operation—a claim that could set a new precedent in the intersection of entertainment, social media influence, and digital gambling.