Stake online casino faces US lawsuits over streamer deals and sweepstakes loophole

Online casino operator Stake is being sued in the United States, with plaintiffs alleging the use of high‑profile streamer partnerships to drive player acquisition while operating through a dual‑token sweepstakes model that skirts state gambling bans. The complaints claim that celebrities such as Drake, Adin Ross and DJ Akademiks were given large reserves of house money to stream high‑stakes slots and table games, and that the platform employed untraceable crypto transfers and bot networks to inflate view counts and secure unearned royalties.

The legal filings invoke RICO statutes, asserting that Stake’s internal tipping feature moved money off the books and that the sweepstakes loophole—originally meant for small‑scale promotions—has been turned into a multi‑billion‑dollar gray‑market operation. Industry observers note that similar streamer‑driven promotion models are being adopted by both crypto‑based and licensed US operators, highlighting a growing regulatory challenge for the online gambling sector.