Stake.us Accused of Financing Artificial Inflation of Drake’s Streaming Numbers

^{Pictured: Drake and gambling streamer Edin Ross}

Canadian rapper Drake has been named as a defendant in a class-action lawsuit filed in a Virginia court. According to NBC News, the lawsuit was brought on behalf of two state residents and seeks to represent users of the Stake.us platform.

In addition to Drake, the defendants include gambling streamer Edin Ross and Australian national George Nguyen, whom the plaintiffs describe as an alleged accomplice.

The lawsuit claims that the defendants were involved in artificially boosting streaming figures for Drake’s music on major platforms, including Spotify, through the use of automated accounts and so-called streaming farms.

According to the filing, Stake.us was allegedly used as a channel for moving funds. The plaintiffs argue that payments for such services were routed through internal user-to-user transfers on the platform, allowing money to be moved and converted within the system without direct payments to third-party contractors.

Stake.us operates as a sweepstakes-style gaming platform that uses virtual currencies and a prize-based system. The service is widely described as a U.S.-focused version of Stake.com, designed to operate in the American market without a traditional gambling licence and to navigate existing regulatory restrictions.

George Nguyen is described in the lawsuit as a middleman who allegedly handled the conversion of funds linked to Stake and coordinated operations aimed at inflating the digital popularity metrics of Drake’s music.

The lawsuit was filed as Drake was preparing to release his new album Iceman.

Drake has served as a brand ambassador for Stake since 2022. The value of his promotional agreement with the operator has been estimated at around $100 million per year.

Gambling Park notes that similar lawsuits were filed in the fall of 2025 in the U.S. states of Missouri and New Mexico. In those cases, Drake and Edin Ross were accused of promoting illegal gambling services.