Drake’s in hot water over claims he’s rigged his streaming numbers through a casino deal.
Drake is embroiled in legal troubles after being accused of using an online casino to manipulate the streaming numbers for his music. The lawsuit was initiated by two consumers of the casino platform Stake.us, LaShawnna Ridley and Tiffany Hines, who filed a class-action suit in Virginia on Wednesday. The case centers around allegations of racketeering conspiracy involving Drake and his co-defendants, streamer Adin Ross and Australian citizen George Nguyen.
The plaintiffs argue that the trio exploited consumers and contributed to the risks associated with gambling addiction. They claim that Drake and his associates utilized Stake’s internal tipping feature to shuffle money among themselves, which allegedly funded artificial streaming, commonly referred to as “botting.” This, they argue, was designed to inflate streaming counts for Drake’s music and create a facade of popularity, while also diminishing competition within the music industry.
The lawsuit illustrates a broader concern about the integrity of the music streaming ecosystem, stating that Drake, through his actions and those of his co-defendants, deployed automated systems and streaming farms to artificially boost play counts on major platforms like Spotify. This manipulation, the complaint claims, undermines genuine artists and restricts listeners’ access to authentic content by corrupting the integrity of curated playlists and recommendations.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages and penalties, as well as a court order to halt the alleged deceptive practices. Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Graham, has already been named in two other lawsuits related to Stake earlier in October, highlighting the growing scrutiny he faces concerning his business dealings with the online casino.
