It seems like there is no respite for Drake and Adin Ross, as they have been sued again over ties to Stake. For those unversed, previously, a petitioner filed a class-action lawsuit against the Canadian rapper, Ross, and Stake’s parent company, Sweepstakes Limited, for fraudulent marketing practices.
Drake and Adin Ross hit with new lawsuit over Stake partnership
Plaintiffs LaShawnna Ridley and Tiffany Hines have sued Drake and Adin Ross regarding their Stake partnership. On December 31, plaintiffs Ridley and Hines filed a federal class-action lawsuit in Virginia, accusing the duo of indulging in fraudulent marketing practices.
The federal class-action lawsuit claims that the website is “operating as one of the largest and most profitable illegal online casinos” since at least 2022. Ridley and Hines allege that Stake misled customers into believing they were merely using fake money as a virtual currency play. However, customers are allegedly using and spending real money, which is misleading (via Complex).
Stake reportedly advertises itself as a platform that does “not offer real money gambling.” Furthermore, it states that “no purchase or payment is necessary to participate or play [Stake] games.” Stake claims to offer customers “the ultimate social, safe and free gaming experience.”
However, Ridley and Hines have alleged that this isn’t the case, as users buy gold coins buried under Stake Cash. Users can cash the gold coins into actual U.S. dollars.
Ridley and Hines reportedly labeled Drake and Ross as “zealous” and “paid” promoters of the platform. Moreover, the petitioners claimed the duo is trying to “mask the true nature and extent of their conduct.”
An excerpt from the lawsuit reads, “The two have engaged in live-streamed gambling, wagering large sums of money that was provided surreptitiously by Stake. In other words, though Drake and Ross purported to be gambling with their own Stake Cash, it was in fact provided to them by the house.”
Additionally, the lawsuit also claims that the duo used Stake’s internal “tipping” system to fund artificial music streams for the Canadian rapper. The lawsuit claims that an undisclosed sum of money, including a public $100,000 tip, was used to fund “artificial streaming (‘botting’) to create fraudulent streams of Drake’s music.”
At the time of writing, neither Drake nor Ross has officially commented on the lawsuit.
