Stake.com co-owner Eddie Craven has invested in live streaming platform Kick following Twitch’s decision to ban high stakes casino streams on the platform.
Kick has this week been thrust into the spotlight by high-profile streamer Trainwreck, otherwise known as Tyler Niknam. He publicly announced his decision to join Kick on 5 December.
Trainwreck was previously one of the biggest slots streamers on Twitch until the Amazon-owned platform banned sites including Stake.com from 18 October 2022.
In a note posted to Twitter, Trainwreck said the ban had deemed most streamers “irrelevant”.
“As a top five Twitch creator in the world for 16.5 months straight, and currently a top 10 Twitch creator in the world, I have a good understanding of Twitch, its foundations, whether they be underground or mainstream, and the way everything works.
“Twitch pads the pockets of a handful of creators, and they are the only ones that won’t admit Twitch’s negligence toward the majority of its streamers. I’ve always believed in Twitch and want to stream there, but they are going in the wrong direction.
“Twitch has built an empire off of our backs and has the audacity to spit in all of our faces by not only giving us no financial security, with its inconsistent policies, but by also cutting our pay in places that they have no right to cut,” he added.
please be patient with everything, i am advising them to get all the integrations needed situated asap, mod tools will be updated & modernized & the 10,000 other things to make your stream experience comfortable are on their way. for now, follow – https://t.co/h765qfMGnS
— Trainwreck (@Trainwreckstv) December 6, 2022
The comments were made via a tweet titled Platform Update, where he informed fans he would be joining new streaming platform Kick.com as a non-owner adviser and non-exclusive broadcaster.
“I choose to work with Kick because their investors are willing to listen to creator input to make their platform better,” said Trainwreck.
“Kick understands that a successful platform starts with a successful streamer. I’ve worked with their team already to create these benefits that no other platform has,” he added.
According to Trainwreck, those benefits include a rule whereby 95% of all subscriber income goes directly to the streamer, as do 100% of tips from viewers.
One of the investors in Kick is Stake.com co-founder Craven and it has been alleged by users on social media that Craven is moving his partnering streamers over to Kick.
While Craven’s involvement in Kick has been confirmed, Stake.com itself is not an investor, according to comments provided to The Washington Post.
Kick is powered by Easygo, a company also founded by Craven in 2016. Easygo originally provided technology to Stake.com and is still listed as a client.
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
Stake.com was one of four online crypto casinos initially banned on Twitch, along with Rollbit.com, Duelbits.com and Roobet.com.
Since the ban, the industry has openly speculated on what the future may hold not only for the slots streamers themselves, but also the operators they gambled with.
Slots streams had become a hugely significant source of revenue for both parties, and they were suddenly left without their primary platform. This in turn left a void to be filled.
Some leading content creators, including Stake streamer Classybeef, pivoted to DLive in the aftermath of the Twitch ban. Classybeef is now also on Kick, however.
DLive is a US-based live streaming serviced that started in 2017. The unfiltered platform is controversial due to its popularity with conspiracy theorists and far-right groups.
iGaming NEXT understands Stake.com had previously considered acquiring DLive, although it never progressed to a genuine prospect. It would now appear that Stake.com co-owner Craven has instead chosen to invest in Kick.