In a bizarrely serene promotional image that looks more like a Hallmark painting than an ad for online gambling, rapper Drake is pictured smiling in a sunlit meadow, basket in hand, while Adin Ross’s head is humorously grafted onto a crimson bird flying above his shoulder. Two bluebirds soar in the background, the scene dripping with pastoral innocence and whimsy. The caption, however, tells a different story.
Big operation, @Drake's first stream of 2025.@adinross 👊 pic.twitter.com/pS2e5OXeQH
— Stake.com (@Stake) April 11, 2025
“Stake as Drake & Adin – A New Beginning,” it reads, heralding “The First Gambling Stream of 2025” with “$1 Million in Giveaways.” At the bottom, in small type, it’s “Dedicated to Trainwreckstv (The GOAT),” a nod to another controversial gambling streamer.
But behind the idyllic visuals and playful tone lies a troubling reality ie. the increasingly toxic relationship between celebrity culture and the gambling industry. Influencers and athletes have run into trouble in recent years promoting gambling via social media, but the trend continues.
Is Drake involved in promoting gambling platform, Stake?
Drake has become one of the most recognizable faces in the world of celebrity gambling. Over the past few years, he’s been regularly spotted placing massive bets through the Australian online casino site Stake. Earlier this year, reports surfaced that the Canadian rapper had signed a jaw-dropping $100 million endorsement deal with the company.
In a statement on Stake.US, the platform said: “Drake, the hip-hop sensation, has been a long-time member of the Stake community. Storming the ranks of the VIP program, Drake fell in love with both the platform, and the perks associated with our VIP program. It was then that this partnership was formed, based on mutual appreciation between mega-star and product.”
Wtf @stake @Drake is also domwn lmao 🤣
Stop it now pic.twitter.com/unLBprTiQR— HARSH GORE (@HARSHgggggg) June 19, 2025
He might be raking in millions through his partnership with crypto betting site Stake, but lately, the bets haven’t exactly been going his way. It was recently revealed that he lost more than $8 million in a single month, all on sports betting.
The One Dance rapper actually shared the news himself on social media. Posting on his Instagram Story, he included a screenshot of his betting losses and wrote, “Gotta share the other side of gambling…”
According to the image, Drake placed nearly $125 million in bets over the course of the month, ending up $8.2 million in the red. He didn’t say exactly which bets were behind the loss, but with the NBA Finals and NHL playoffs both in full swing, it’s not hard to guess.
In another Instagram post, Drake showed off a fresh $800,000 bet on Game 6 of the NBA Finals. He put $600,000 on the Oklahoma City Thunder to win, and another $200,000 on them winning by a 6 to 10 point margin. If both hit, the payout would be around $1.7 million.
This wasn’t his first big miss. Just last month, he bet $1.25 million on the Toronto Maple Leafs to win Game 7 and move to the NHL Eastern Conference Finals. They lost to the Florida Panthers.
In a mock interview posted to Instagram, Drake admitted, “I am a flawed sports better… I will not deny that. That’s not my gift. I’ll let everybody roll with it. I’m sure if you’re a Drake curse believer, there will be plenty more content in the future to confirm your theories because my slips do not cash out. But one day I’m gonna have a parlay that’s insane.”
Despite the string of losses, Drake still has his Stake partnership pinned on his X profile and clearly isn’t backing away from the spotlight or the sportsbook anytime soon.
While some users are claiming that the whole thing may be a PR stunt, others have urged caution about following such leads, especially after videos emerged of Drake allegedly using ChatGPT to help him make wagers. One user wrote on X: “Drake lost $124m in a month to gambling. If he continues like this,sooner or later he’ll be in debt.”
Another added: “This is disgusting. It’s basically saying, ‘HEY KIDS! Come gamble at Stake and lose all your money sponsored by @adinross & @Drake!’ $100M a year to corrupt kids into being gambling junkies. Nice.”
‘Celebrities and influencers increase the appeal and recall of gambling promotions’
In examining Drake’s relationship with Stake, masks a deeply problematic truth about the use of celebrities in gambling promotion, especially among youth audiences. As showcased in the 2024 Australian study “Young People’s Views About the Use of Celebrities and Social Media Influencers in Gambling Marketing,” the tactic has a serious psychological effect on adolescents.
Researchers found that “celebrities and SMIs [social media influencers] increase the trust, legitimacy and social acceptance of gambling,” with one 12-year-old participant explaining that if someone like basketball legend, Shaquille O’Neal, is promoting betting, “he must use them,” which makes them seem “a good and trustworthy company.”
“The use of celebrities and SMIs also added trust and credibility to the gambling company or gambling product that they were advertising. Some young people discussed how athletes in particular added ‘an extra level of trust’ when promoting sports betting.”
Another key finding is how celebrities “lowered the perceptions of risk associated with gambling,” presenting an unrealistic, glamorized view of betting, especially when wins are exaggerated and losses go unmentioned.
The same study warns that these influencers often blur the lines between reality and marketing, making gambling seem “cool,” aspirational, or even a route to replicate a celebrity’s lifestyle. The research suggests that such a partnership could be manufacturing dangerous illusions, especially for the most impressionable fans.
Global crack down on celebrities and influencers promoting gambling
It’s not just Drake stirring up controversy with his gambling promos. Celebrities and influencers across the globe are finding themselves in hot water for similar deals.
Take social media personalities Rory Jennings and Adam McKola, for example. They recently landed in trouble with the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which banned a PokerStars Instagram ad they featured in because the ad broke responsible gambling rules by misrepresenting gambling outcomes and encouraging reckless behavior.
Even Ryan Seacrest, the host of American Idol and Wheel of Fortune, hasn’t escaped scrutiny. He’s currently facing a lawsuit for endorsing Chumba Casino, which the suit claims operates illegally in California.
We're always happy to bring you fresh new games at https://t.co/7taAn7d0BG 🙌❄️
Let us know which games are at the top of your nice list this Christmas 🥰 pic.twitter.com/AtSC1ghAZG
— Chumba Casino (@ChumbaCasino) December 24, 2024
The plaintiff, Aubrey Carillo, alleges she lost money on the site after seeing Seacrest regularly promote it on his social media as the casino’s “official celebrity endorser.” According to the lawsuit, Seacrest’s involvement helped fuel the growing problem of online gambling addiction among both adults and teens.
Chumba Casino, for its part, pushed back. A spokesperson told ReadWrite at the time that the platform “operates its social casino in strict compliance with all applicable laws and regulations,” and called the lawsuit “meritless.” They added that Seacrest is “not involved in the operation” and had been “unfairly targeted.”
Meanwhile, the issue is popping up worldwide. A Twitch streamer in Denmark was fined DKK 10,000 ($1,500) for promoting unlicensed gambling sites. In India, 11 influencers including actors and YouTubers like Vishnu Priya and Harsha Sai are facing criminal cases for promoting betting apps.
And in New Zealand, the Department of Internal Affairs just issued its first-ever takedown notices to influencers who were found promoting offshore gambling operators, with more investigations underway.
From Instagram to Twitch to mainstream TV, the line between entertainment and predatory marketing is getting blurrier, and global regulators are finally starting to notice.
ReadWrite has reached out to Stake for comment.
Featured image: Grok / Canva
