A US federal judge has paused a proposed class action accusing Drake of running a bot operation to inflate his music streams. The lawsuit was brought by eight Stake.us users, led by LaShawnna Ridley and Tiffany Hines, who say they lost money gambling on the platform. Drake withdrew the petition and instead sued UMG for defamation, a case a New York judge dismissed in October 2025 and which Drake is appealing. Brinkema ordered the plaintiffs and Stake to begin arbitration promptly and to file a status report within 120 days. The judge removed the case from the court’s active docket and canceled a hearing that had been set for August 14.Music Business Worldwide