Drake's Lawyers Order AI Casino HighStack to Drop His Likeness

Lawyers for Aubrey Drake Graham demanded on Sept. 1 that a gaming startup called HighStack strip his name, likeness and trademarks from every product and investor document it holds.

The demand landed on a venture pitching AI-generated, celebrity-branded casino games. It names two slot products built around the rapper and disputes a marketing claim crediting him with more than 500,000 first-time deposits at a third-party platform in his first year there.

Both letters were published on Sept. 8 by voidzilla, a channel run by the investigator known as Coffeezilla.

Two Letters Target the Same Three Founders

Evan Michailidis of Eisner LLP wrote to HighStack founders P.J. Gunsagar, Neeraj Gunsagar and Vikrant Bhargava. Bhargava co-founded PartyGaming, the operator behind PartyPoker, which floated in London in 2005.

The letter identifies a slot titled "Drake's Dynasty Slots" and an "Iceman" slot using an AI-generated depiction of his likeness, alongside the OVO owl mark, the "6 GOD" mark and the Champagnepapi handle. It states that Graham has no affiliation whatsoever with HighStack and is not a founding partner, officer, investor, endorser or agent.

It cites right-of-publicity statutes in New York and California, the Lanham Act and false advertising, and reserves the right to refer the matter to state and international gaming regulators.

A second letter, dated Sept. 3, came from Bryan J. Freedman for Adel Nur, known as Future the Prince, and David Bolno. Both are Drake's managers, and both appear in HighStack "Founding Partners" materials.

Our clients do not by this letter dispute that they hold a passive investment in HighStack, but that is the totality of their involvement.

The letter says pairing their names with Graham's image creates a false impression, adds that "we believe this inference to be intentional on your part," and cites defamation and false light.

HighStack Holds an Anjouan Licence That Excludes the U.S.

HighStack's invite-only site carries an Anjouan Gaming Board seal, issued to a Costa Rican numbered company, 3-102-960819 SRL. The licence lists the United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Netherlands and Australia as excluded territories.

The company's LinkedIn page says the platform is operated by Jaqpot Interactive; the Cyprus companies register shows Jaqpot Interactive Ltd incorporated on Feb. 25, 2026, in Nicosia.

The official X account announced on Aug. 25 that "HighStack Beta is live." On Sept. 7, four days after the second letter and one day before the video, it posted that invites were out and servers were live.

Celebrity Names Attach to Betting Products at Record Pace

The dispute arrives during an unusually dense run of celebrity gambling deals. DraftKings launched a national campaign called "Take Your Game Anywhere" on Aug. 31, starring Kevin Hart and Nick Jonas, with later spots set to feature Chad Ochocinco and Carmelo Anthony.

Prediction markets have moved fastest. LeBron James teased a Polymarket partnership on Sept. 5 and appeared in a full commercial on Sept. 8 alongside Eli Manning, Derek Jeter, Spike Lee, Sue Bird and John Leguizamo. Whether the arrangement is paid promotion, equity or both has not been disclosed, and Polymarket did not respond to questions about its terms.

Lionel Messi has signed with Kalshi, Maria Sharapova with Polymarket, and Timothee Chalamet appeared in a Kalshi advertisement in June 2026.

The legal footing differs sharply across those deals. State regulators are still contesting whether prediction markets may offer sports contracts nationwide, while HighStack's problem is narrower: its materials named a celebrity who says he never agreed to appear in them.

Graham's promotional work for Stake has continued in public, including a $1 million giveaway marking the operator's ninth birthday.

Both letters to HighStack set five-business-day deadlines and demand a signed accounting of every use. Neither has drawn a public response from the company, and the regulator referral flagged by Drake's counsel is the next escalation to watch.

Treat gambling as entertainment you pay for. 18+, and if it stops feeling like entertainment, help exists at BeGambleAware and GamCare.