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Twitch is no longer the sole social media streaming site in town. Enter Kick, which promises a better cut for streamers. And unlike Twitch, which banned unlicensed crypto gambling websites like Stake.com recently, Kick welcomes gambling promotions to its platform.
Digging beneath the surface, there may be a closer association between Stake.com and Kick than a simple sponsorship deal.
Streamer and gambler Tyler “Trainwrecks” Niknam recently began endorsing Kick and internet sleuths want answers.
Niknam told the Washington Post that Eddie Craven, whom he described as an owner of Stake, is also an investor in Kick. Craven “is involved in Kick," the streaming service acknowledged in an email to the Post.
Trainwreck described Kick as “the beginning of a completely different approach to livestreaming,” and that he had “constant communication with the ownership and developer team.”
Niknam, one of the top 10 streamers on Twitch, became embroiled in a gambling, crypto and sexual assault scandal tied to the platform this past September.
Streamer ItsSliker, who is still present on the service, confessed to bilking others out of hundreds of thousands of dollars to support his gambling addiction.
Pressure was placed on Twitch to ban some forms of gambling, which they eventually did.
“I can say confidently that kick.com is a sham,” wrote former Twitch director of creator development Marcus “DJWheat” Graham on Twitter, pointing to the website’s lack of information about its investors. “I can’t sit idly by and watch nonsense be thrown out into the world as a beacon of hope for creators.”
“There are so many red flags present that it is embarrassing watching people who I respect give this platform an ounce of credibility,” Graham added.
Kick is still in beta. Posted job listings refer to the new venture as being "created by the founders of Easygo and Stake.com.”
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
