2026 is not off to a very good begin for rapper Drake. Along with coping with the aftermath of Kendrick Lamar’s viral diss monitor “Not Like Us,” Drake is now dealing with authorized woes, as he is been named in a federal lawsuit and accused of persuading customers to gamble with actual cash on the web on line casino platform Stake. As well as, the explosive lawsuit filed in Virginia additionally claims that the rapper used the on line casino’s on-line tipping characteristic to ship giant sums of cash to “artificially inflate streaming counts” for his music.

Drake followers could not even get a full day into 2026 with out being dealt some somber information. In accordance with a number of sources, together with Complicated and Rolling Stone, Drake and the favored streamer Adin Ross are being sued for selling the web on line casino Stake. For these unfamiliar, Stake is a web-based platform that reportedly doesn’t supply real-money playing. Nonetheless, the lawsuit filed by LaShawnna Ridley and Tiffany Hines alleges in any other case.

Drake, Ross, and a 3rd man are accused of preying upon shoppers and unlawfully exposing them to the “substantial dangers of playing dependancy.” Additional, the 2 ladies declare they had been “influenced to take part” within the firm’s “predatorial playing atmosphere” after seeing Drake’s paid promotion, which included social media posts, giveaways, and livestreamed playing periods.

Drake and Ross are listed as “zealous” and “paid” promoters of the Stake platform, which Ridley and Hines declare “masks the true nature and extent of their conduct.”

“The 2 have engaged in livestreamed playing, wagering giant sums of cash that was supplied surreptitiously by Stake,” the lawsuit learn. “In different phrases, although Drake and Ross presupposed to be playing with their very own Stake Money, it was actually supplied to them by the home.”

Previously, Drake has made headlines over his hefty six-figure wagers on the Stake platform. Most lately, he wager $200,000 on Jake Paul to win his December 19 combat in opposition to heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.

The claims above aren’t the one stunning elements of the explosive lawsuit. Along with being accused of performing as paid promoters of the Stake platform, the paperwork declare Drake and Ross used the platform’s “tipping” system to maneuver six-figure quantities between the boys to fund “synthetic streaming to create fraudulent streams of Drake’s music.”

In accordance with the lawsuit, paying for fraudulent streams was an effort to “fabricate reputation; disparage opponents and music label executives; distort suggestion algorithms; and distribute financing for all the foregoing, whereas concealing the circulate of funds.”

The go well with additionally claims that Drake’s alleged participation in inflating his streams with fraudulent numbers solely hurts different artists within the trade. “This manipulation has suppressed genuine artists and narrowed shoppers’ entry to professional content material by undermining the integrity of curated experiences,” the paperwork learn.

Drake has been open about his love for the playing platform, which is not stunning, as he reportedly signed a $100 million-a-year deal in 2023 to advertise the corporate on-line.

After information of the lawsuit grew to become public, social media customers shared surprised reactions, with one person writing, “Drake being hit with a RICO and it being introduced on the primary day of 2026 is simply wow.” One other person joked that Drake would quickly be heading to “cell block one,” a reference to a lyric from Lamar’s hit “Not Like Us.”

Different customers got here to the rapper’s protection, nonetheless, with one saying the lawsuit is being introduced by two ladies who had been unable to carry themselves accountable. “Even an individual with low IQ is aware of that on-line playing requires actual cash,” they wrote. One other added, “Think about suing as a result of you may’t stand that you just misplaced your bread.”