Gambling Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Influencer Promotions Fueled Sports‑Betting‑Style Addiction

Former users claim Stake.US uses virtual currencies that work like real cash to sidestep state gambling restrictions, but still pose a serious risk of creating gambling addiction.

A class action lawsuit accuses musician Drake and internet personality Adin Ross of helping to promote an illegal online gambling site that blatantly skirts nationwide state laws, which are designed to protect consumers against the risk of gambling addictions.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by LaShawna Ridley and Tiffany Hines in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on December 31. The women claim they both used Stake.US, a website that allegedly operates as an undisclosed gambling platform. The lawsuit indicates that Stake.US paid influencers to give it an appearance of legitimacy, which ultimately lured users into developing dangerous gambling habits.

Hines and Ridley seek class actions status for their lawsuit, which pursues damages against Drake, whose legal name is Aubrey Drake Graham, Ross, Sweepsteaks LTD, which does business as Stake.US. and George Nguyen, who the lawsuit says Drake paid through Stake.US to manage “botting operations” to falsely inflate the number of times Drake’s songs were played on online services.

Online Gambling Addiction Concerns

In 2018 the U.S. Supreme Court issued the Murphy v. NCAA ruling, which removed a federal ban on sports betting. Since then, 39 states and the District of Columbia have legalized sports betting, leading to a rush of online gambling sites. However, those platforms are still supposed to be restricted by state laws.

This expansion has fueled an ongoing surge in sports betting and gambling addiction, particularly among young men. Many now seek treatment for sports-betting problems that follow a similar progression into compulsive gambling, often beginning with so-called “risk-free” promotions, in-game betting features and other aggressive marketing tactics.

The financial consequences of gambling addiction have emerged as one of the most devastating impacts of online sports betting. Many individuals who develop gambling problems report rapid and severe losses, often accumulating tens of thousands of dollars in debt within a short period of time through repeated bets, credit card use and online payment services linked directly to sportsbook and other gambling apps.

According to the lawsuit, Stake.US. which has been operating since 2022, is a front for illegal online gambling in the state of Virginia, the plaintiffs’ home state, and many other states throughout the U.S.

The plaintiffs indicate that Stake.US bills itself as “free” gambling done without real money. Its advertisements say this is legal, yet the lawsuit claims this is a scheme meant to sidestep the law.

Users of the site buy a fantasy currency called “Gold Coins” that are used to gamble on the supposedly free games. However, Gold Coins are purchased with real money. Along with bundles of Gold Coins, users also get Stake Cash, which can be used on real gambling games and traded in for real money.

The complaint indicates that “for every dollar spent on purchasing Gold Coins, Stake bundles a nearly equivalent amount of Stake Cash.” Stake cash can be cashed out at a 1:1 ratio for U.S. dollars.

The lawsuit also notes that Drake has been paid $100,000,000 to promote the site. Some of those proceeds were then paid to Ross and Nguyen to buy and orchestrate bot farms, as well as streaming farms that “artificially inflate the number of plays attributed to Drake’s catalogue” on major digital streaming services, such as Spotify. He allegedly paid the two men through a “tipping” service built into Stake.US to hide the transactions, according to the complaint.

Ridley and Hines seek class action status for all users of the site for the last three years, presenting claims that defendants violated the Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. In addition to compensatory damages they are asking the court to shut the site down as an illegal operation.

Gambling Addiction Lawsuits

The complaint joins a growing surge of gambling addiction lawsuits, most of which have been focused on sportsbook sites like FanDuel and DraftKings. Many of these complaints claim betting sites target college-age users or other individuals vulnerable to gambling addiction, encouraging them to place high-frequency bets, even when their algorithms single the users out as having signs of problem gambling.

Some of these users continued to receive personalized incentives and marketing offers after requesting account closures or appearing on self-exclusion lists, raising serious concerns about how platforms exploit vulnerable behavior.

If you or someone you love suffered financial harm from compulsive gambling on these apps, contact a sports gambling lawyer to see if you are eligible to recover losses and hold companies accountable for their potentially addictive design and predatory targeting practices.

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