Drake, Adin Ross, DJ Akademiks, and gambling website Stake.us have all been named in an illegal gambling and racketeering lawsuit.
Filed in New Jersey on Wednesday (April 22), the suit echoes similar lawsuits involving Drizzy and Ross that have been filed in Missouri, New Mexico, and, most recently, Virginia.
Court documents reviewed by Complex show that Jason Nufio of Roselle, New Jersey, is claiming he lost money on Stake.us and that the online casino violates state gambling regulations. It comes after New Jersey passed legislation on August 15, 2025, making it no longer legal to join or participate in a sweepstakes casino while in the state.
Nufio and his lawyers allege that Drake, Ross, and Akademiks have all used their celebrity status to promote Stake while hiding their deals with the platform. Like the other lawsuits, the plaintiff also accuses Stake of financing a scheme to inflate Drake's streaming numbers.
Akademiks (real name Livingston Allen) is specifically accused of "knowingly and directly [assisting] Drake’s inflation of his streaming numbers through bot networks by publishing and promoting information that he knew to be false" while getting paid out through Stake’s tipping feature.
According to the court documents, Nufio claims ads for Stake "concealed the fact that Drake and Ross faced no genuine financial risk, while ordinary consumers who followed their lead and placed similar wages stood to lose real money."
"They have inflicted harm on consumers across the State who have lost real money chasing gambling wins on the Stake platform," court documents say.
The lawsuit also alleges that Stake uses virtual currency, called gold coins, as "a fig leaf to superficially avoid the appearance of illegal gambling and afford Stake a veneer of deniability."
Nufio is seeking recovery of his gambling losses among other damages.
Complex has reached out to Stake for comment. If a response is received, this story will be updated.
