Gambling-related content was once huge at streaming platform Twitch, but following a ban on unlicensed casinos in October, viewership is down. One streamer who has been vocal in their unhappiness at the situation is Trainwreckstv, aka Tyler Niknam. Not only has he called Twitch out as being ‘boring’, but the streamer also discussed plans of setting up his own platform.
While Twitch is the dominant player in the streaming market, a number of sites have popped up in competition. YouTube has tried to muscle in on the act as has smaller outfits such as DLive (which chickened out on our interview with them) and Trovo. One of the newest to launch is Kick.com, which is already stirring up controversy.
Kick has teamed up with Trainwreck in the venture, and although he calls himself a ‘non-owner adviser and non-exclusive broadcaster’, he does claim to have a measure of control at the site, stating that ‘Kick will roll out these features in the near future under my direction.’ One of Kick’s selling points for streamers is a ‘too good to be true’ 95/5 split, which would see 95% of the revenue go to creators, the rest to the site, while 100% of the tips would go to the streamer.
Numbers like that might make it an attractive alternative, but some have raised warning flags after pouring over the small print, or lack thereof. A current lack of terms of service and privacy policy has raised concerns over how the information provided to the company might be used and who it might be shared with.
Some of the biggest red flags, though, have centred on Kick’s alleged connection to crypto gambling casino Stake. In fact, Stake has been rumoured to be the owner (or investor) of Kick, though some have claimed otherwise. Representatives from Stake, for one, have pointed out that Eddie Craven, the owner of Stake, is merely an adviser at Kick, not its owner.
However, speculation is running rife on Twitter and elsewhere. Online detective Coffeezilla is one who is positive about the connection between Stake and Kick, tweeting on December 6:
‘Trainwreck’s new platform is owned by–wait for it…. STAKE. That’s why Kick is paying insane creator splits, they’re owned by an offshore casino lmao. And it’s the reason train is moving, to continue the Stake cash cow. I wonder why Train didn’t tell people that.’
Trainwreck’s new platform is owned by— wait for it…. STAKE.
That’s why Kick is paying insane creator splits, they’re owned by an offshore casino lmao. And it’s the reason train is moving, to continue the Stake cash cow.
I wonder why Train didn’t tell people that 🤔 https://t.co/3AJT9sJhOt
— Coffeezilla (@coffeebreak_YT) December 6, 2022
Coffeezilla backs up the claim by sharing text taken from a LinkedIn job listing which includes the line; ‘Kick is a new venture created by the founders of Easygo and Stake.com with new studios in Australia and Europe.’ It’s also been pointed out that the Kick subreddit had previously been created and moderated by Stake accounts.
As of yet, Stake has not formally confirmed ownership of Kick, but the casino was a sponsor of Trainwreck at Twitch before the crypto site (and others) was targeted in the ban. For now, it’s not one hundred per cent clear who really owns Kick.com or whether the site will actually be a success or not. In time clarity will hopefully be provided as the picture gets clearer and the key players emerge.
