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Drake is not just the guy dropping platinum albums and headlining arenas. Over the last couple of years, he also became the biggest celebrity face in online gambling. His partnership with Stake, a crypto online casino, turned high-stakes betting into a global spectacle.
Now, the ride has ended, with Drake calling Stake’s co-founder a snake and walking away from streaming altogether.
The big deal with Stake online casino
In 2022, Drake signed a deal with Stake reportedly worth $100 million a year. The idea was simple: Drake would play and promote Stake’s games, and in return, Stake got to put one of the world’s biggest stars at the center of its casino empire. It worked. His streams became events, with millions of dollars flying on a single roulette spin or slot pull.
Stake is operated by Medium Rare N.V., which also runs Stake.us, a sweepstakes-style social casino tailored for U.S. players.
But the honeymoon didn’t last. The operator is unlicensed in the United States, which raised eyebrows. And during his streams, Drake sometimes lost huge sums — including up to $20 million in a single session.
Viewers often wondered if those losses were real, since Drake was being paid to promote Stake. Still, when he revealed in June that he lost more than $8 million in just one month of sports betting, fans started to believe he may have been gambling with his own money, too.
The breaking point: Drake vs. Stake
That dream partnership unraveled quickly. On a Trainwreckstv stream, Drake called out Ed Craven, the co-founder of Stake, and labeled him a snake. He compared himself to Steph Curry, saying he was putting up all the points while someone else got the glory. He also revealed that Stake had blocked him from withdrawing money on four separate occasions. And these weren’t small amounts — they were millions.
Drake even took the feud to Instagram, asking publicly if the move was personal. For someone who had been the face of Stake’s casino empire, this was more than a disagreement. It was a messy breakup playing out in front of the entire internet.
It wasn’t just the blocked withdrawals that broke the camel’s back. Drake admitted he lost $8 million in one month. For a rapper worth hundreds of millions, it wasn’t financial ruin, but it was enough to make the fun feel more like pressure. Fans who once tuned in to celebrate jackpots with him now saw a man worn down by the swings of gambling.
He shut down his Kick account and left the world of streaming behind. Even Adin Ross, one of the platform’s most outspoken streamers, confirmed the exit.
High stakes, hard lessons: Trainwreck calls out Stake
Drake isn’t the only one showing frustration. Trainwreck, one of the most famous gambling streamers, has also started questioning his future with Stake. He’s had brutal runs, losing nearly $20 million over just five sessions. He even said he was taking a break after those losses, though the pause didn’t last long.
Trainwreck bounced back with the biggest real-money online slot win ever recorded: $37.5 million. That record was later broken by Roshtein, who hit $45.5 million. But instead of celebrating, Trainwreck questioned whether the win was legitimate. He accused Stake of being complicit in payout fraud and admitted he was rethinking his entire relationship with the operator.
The next big names in online casino streaming
With Drake out, the loudest new name is HSTikkyTokky, a brash young streamer being compared to Andrew Tate by fans and critics alike. He’s building a massive following and has become the influencer to watch in gambling circles.
But the scene isn’t only his. Trainwreckstv is still a powerhouse, dropping wild amounts of cash every time he goes live. Adin Ross keeps his streams unpredictable. Roshtein remains the king of marathon slot sessions, grinding for hours on end for his die-hard fans. And while xQc might not be a full-time gambler, whenever he jumps on, the viewer numbers soar.
In the evolving world of the online casino industry, the exit of a superstar like Drake leaves room for new personalities to take the spotlight — and the stakes have never been higher.
