A forthcoming lawsuit in Missouri names Sweepsteaks Ltd., the operator of Stake.us, and others in alleged violations of the state’s gambling laws. The complaint seeks class action status and asks the court to enjoin Sweepsteaks from offering casino-style games based on sweepstakes contests online plus award damages to members of the presumed class.
It’s the latest litigation involving a sweepstakes operator across the US, but one of a few that have been filed in state courts rather than at the federal level. This action could be the first case to test the application of Missouri’s gaming laws regarding sweepstakes games.
Killham v. Sweepstakes, et al takes shape
While the complaint has not yet been officially filed yet, drafts of the brief have been circulated publicly. The lead plaintiff is Justin Killham, whom the complaint says resides in Independence, Missouri and has lost money playing games on Stake.us.
The lawsuit also names Adin Ross and Aubrey Drake Graham as defendants. Ross and prominent musician Drake have performed promotional work for Stake.
The brief cites Missouri laws banning online casino play for real money and alleges that Stake’s sweepstakes games violate those statutes. It also claims that Missouri law allows residents who have lost money playing unlicensed games to recover those losses.
BREAKING: Canadian rapper Drake and online influencer Adin Ross have been sued along with sweepstakes casino website https://t.co/ZWPLa9WGvN for promoting illegal online gambling in Missouri. The class action seeks to hold Drake and Ross liable for class members' gambling losses. pic.twitter.com/YILRTAWloM
— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) October 27, 2025
The class that the plaintiff wants the court to certify consists of, “all persons in Missouri who gambled and lost money in Stake’s online casino at any time during the five years preceding the filing of this action.” The potential certification of the class will be a primary matter of business in these proceedings, assuming the defendants and Killham don’t come to a settlement.
Missouri law untested on sweepstakes casino gaming
Sweepsteaks faces multiple lawsuits in several jurisdictions, including an action from the state of California itself.
This is the first court action with the potential to ask a state judge to interpret Missouri’s gaming laws for their application to sweepstakes contests. The case could also require the court to apply Missouri statutes in new ways regarding arbitration clauses in website terms of use.
Sweepsteaks has successfully convinced courts to remand litigation to arbitration in the past. However, none of those actions involved Missouri law on the subject.
Another potential obstacle for the plaintiff will be the issue of federal preemption. If the court does not rule that the arbitration clauses in Stake’s terms bar litigation, that is likely to be an argument in Sweepsteaks’ motion to dismiss.
Federal laws regarding sweepstakes might enter the conversation
When confronted with potential violations of state laws in the past, Sweepsteaks and other operators of sweepstakes casinos have argued that federal statutes regulating the contests preempt state law on the subject. In Killham v. Sweepsteaks, that could be part of the defendants’ motion to dismiss, arguing that the court in Independence is an improper venue for the complaint.
To date, attempts to challenge the legality of online sweepstakes casinos by private individuals have mostly been unsuccessful, as have requests for class certification along the lines of players who lost money on such websites. The circuit court for Jackson County, Missouri could soon either further that narrative or represent a deviation from it.
