Drake and Adin Ross Face Class Action for Promoting Cryptocurrency Casino Stake
Celebrities Drake and Adin Ross are facing a class action lawsuit in the United States, accused of falsely promoting Stake — a cryptocurrency-based online casino platform that allegedly operates as an illegal gambling operation.
The lawsuit, filed in Missouri by Stake.us user Justin Killham, alleges that the site used “Gold Coins” to disguise real-money betting, while players could actually buy “Stake Cash” and exchange it for real dollars at a 1:1 ratio.
The plaintiffs allege that this was a systematic fraud, intended to deceive regulators and put users, especially young people, at risk of “financial ruin, psychological stress, and gambling addiction.”
Drake and Adin Ross allegedly made millions of dollars promoting Stake through livestreams and social media posts. Drake regularly livestreams himself betting huge sums of money on the platform — but according to the lawsuit, most of those bets are not his own, but “house money” funded by Stake.
“Drake’s public betting has created the so-called ‘Drake Effect,’ which has caused the Stake brand to explode in popularity, especially among younger audiences susceptible to his flashy image,” the document states.
Stake promotes itself as a “social casino” where players use virtual tokens for entertainment without real value. However, the lawsuit points out that Stake Cash is the real product — a form of cryptocurrency that can be converted to USD and used for gambling.
Unlike the high-profile lawsuits that followed the FTX crash in 2022, what sets the Stake case apart is that Drake and Ross allegedly knew of the legal risks and continued to promote them, which could make it difficult for them to avoid liability if the allegations are proven.
Representatives for Drake, Adin Ross, and Stake have yet to respond. The lawsuit is expected to open a major debate about the boundaries between “social casinos” and real online gambling, as the US regulatory landscape for gaming and digital assets becomes increasingly complex.