Both Adin Ross and Drake have now been sued alongside streaming giant Kick in a bombshell class action lawsuit, where their connection to gambling practices is put under scrutiny.
It has only been a couple of months now since Kick was put under legal pressure following the death of Raphaël Graven, yet now the streaming giant and Twitch's biggest rival faces new challenges from courts, alongside two of its biggest associates.
Both Adin Ross and Aubrey "Drake" Graham are two of the most prominent names to champion Stake-backed streaming site Kick, and have been known to show themselves wagering large amounts of money in their streams.
Now, as reported by Dexerto, that association with gambling could come back to bite them as a new lawsuit has emerged in Jackson County Circuit Court, claiming that the defendants – Ross, Drake, and Stake owner Sweepsteaks Limited – have engaged in "deceptive, fraudulent and unfair" practices, all of which violate Missouri state law.
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The class action lawsuit documents obtained by CasinoBeats outlined that plaintiff Justin Killham has lost money while gambling on Stake's platforms, which he claims to be "a result of Defendants' wrongful trade practices."
These include the creation of the 'Stake.us' platform, which is alleged by the lawsuit to be "in open violation of Missouri state gaming and consumer protection laws" through the distribution of 'Stake Cash' tokens which can be wagered in casino games for real money at a 1:1 ratio with the US dollar.
Additionally, the lawsuit highlights the use of online influencers to "steer commercial traffic to Stake.com and Stake.us," naming specifically Ross and Drake due to the claim that they're paid "millions of dollars yearly to engage in promotional livestream online casino gambling with Stake.com."
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Key to this claim is the allegation that Ross and Drake gamble on Stake "under deeply fraudulent pretences," as the lawsuit claims that they "often do not do so with their own money despite telling the public in Missouri and elsewhere the opposite."
Effectively, the lawsuit is suggesting that the defendants are not only unlawfully promoting gambling on their streams, but they are also getting paid 'millions' to do so, and are doing this by not using their own money, which is therefore seen as 'fraudulent' and 'deceptive' for the audience.
The result of this lawsuit is to seek "recovery of gambling losses with Defendants, an award of class counsel's fees, an injunction against further violations, reimbursement of expenses and costs of suit as allowed by law and such other relief as the Court deems just and proper."
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This could also have a significant impact as to how Stake – and Kick as a result – is allowed to operate online, and would have a knock-on effect not just for Adin Ross and Drake, but also countless other live streamers on the platform.