Drake named in landmark RICO lawsuit over alleged streaming fraud and illegal gambling

The 6 God is beginning his journey into 2026 with a cloud over his head. The rapper has been involved in a proposed federal class-action lawsuit filed in a U.S. court for his alleged role “in a highly sophisticated scheme designed to evade federal and state gambling laws and create the false impression” that he “garnered a tremendous number of streams” for his music.

This lawsuit was filed on December 31. 2025 in the Virginia courts against the Toronto rapper, popular influencer Adin Ross, and Australian national George Nguyen. The main underlying issue in this lawsuit is the casino Stake.us, which has been deemed illegal in the United States for the purpose of gambling.

Charges of ‘music botting’ against Drake

As per the claim, Drake and Ross were remunerated in Stake.us promotions in virtual forms of money, which were "surreptitiously" supplied by the platform. The claim states that the group utilised the "tipping" function on Stake to transfer money amongst themselves, beyond any regulatory control.

In the most explosive part of the suit, the plaintiffs, who are named as LaShawnna Ridley and Tiffany Hines, allege that these gains were invested in "ongoing music botting campaigns." It is asserted that Drake used bots and streaming farms to establish "fraudulent streams" on platforms such as Spotify. These, in turn, were meant to manipulate recommendation algorithms, skew playlisting, and create the illusion of global popularity.

The lawsuit states that such actions were responsible for doing more than merely stroking Drake's ego; instead, they hurt the industry. “By manipulating algorithms,” states the lawsuit, “the defendants made it difficult for real artists to be heard; they corrupted all sorts of carefully curated audio experiences for millions of people around the globe.”

The attorneys are seeking damages of no less than $5 million and are demanding a jury trial. The claims are brought pursuant to federal racketeering laws (RICO) as well as the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. Although Drake’s counsel has not released an official statement, this is definitely not the first time he has been involved in related litigation at Stake, as he was also sued in Missouri and New Mexico late last year. To date, none of the allegations have been proven in court.

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