A new class action filed in the Jackson County Circuit Court of Missouri alleges that Stake.us is operating an illegal online casino in the state. It also names two famous co-defendants alongside the sweepstakes site.
Suit says Stake.us promoters guilty as well
Plaintiff Justin Killham has named both celebrity rapper Drake and notable streamer Adin Ross as co-defendants in the suit, arguing that both unjustly profited from promoting what he claims is an illegal gambling operation. Drake signed a promotional deal with both Stake.com and its sister operating Stake.us in 2022 that is rumored to be worth at least $100 million. As part of the deal, Drake promoted the Stake brand, often touting his big bets and streaming his play on Kick, a streaming platform owned by Stake co-founder Ed Craven.
“Drake’s role as Stake’s unofficial mascot is quietly corrosive—he’s glamorizing the platform to millions of impressionable fans, many of whom treat his wild betting habits like gospel,” the claim argued.
The claim also said that because Drake and streamer Ross were given house money to play with, creating a false impression to their audiences that they were gambling with their own money.
“But Drake and Ross do so under deeply fraudulent pretenses. To wit, when Ross and Drake purport to gamble online with Stake.com, they often do not do so with their own money despite telling the public in Missouri and elsewhere the opposite. This fact is not shared with the public in Missouri by Stake and/or Ross and/or Drake. These acts are deceptive, fraudulent and unfair and violate Missouri law.”
Suit says sweepstakes casinos are illegal in MO
Like many other suits against sweepstakes casinos, the suit argues that, even with a dual-currency format, the site is tantamout to an illegal online casino and the Gold Coins that can be purchased to play social versions of the games are simply a ruse and Sweeps Coins are the real currency on the site since they have real cash value.
The suit cited a missive from the Missouri Gaming Commission released earlier this year to support its argument, as the bulletin said all online casinos are illegal in the state. However, the bulletin in question was not addressing sweepstakes casinos and was insteead warning users that a series of copycat casinos were pretending to be brick and mortar casinos in Missouri launching what claimed to be legal online casino sites.
The suit claims Stake, Drake and Ross have violated the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, arguing that the online casino product constitutes “merchandise” and that the three defendants are fraudulently claiming that the casino is a social casino product and that Ross and Drake were taking part using their own bankrolls.
The suit also alleged unjust enrichment and a Missouri statute that allows those who have lost money playing illegal gambling games to sue to recover their losses.
The suit aims to open up to other potential plaintiffs as a class action and is seeking damages as well as an injunction to take Stake.us offline in the state.
The suit comes at a contentious time for Drake and Stake. The former deleted his Kick account in August and Ross confirmed to his streaming audience that Drake would not be doing any more streams in the future.
A California lawsuit similarly tried to name a promoter of Chumba Casino in a class action suit, amending her complaint to include Ryan Seacrest, but that lawsuit was later dismissed.
