New streaming platform Kick.com, promoted by Twitch streamer Trainwreck and aiming to rival the Amazon-owned platform, is connected to gambling website Stake.com, the streamer has now confirmed.
The crypto gambling site, which has sponsored numerous Twitch streamers including Trainwreck, did not publicly boast of any involvement with Kick.com when the streamer promoted it on December 5.
However, a number of connections between the platform and Stake, including Stake’s co-founder, Ed Craven, were spotted online.
Craven has been streaming on Kick.com for some time now, sharing broadcasts on the platform back in November, before it was formally promoted by Trainwreck. Eddie also did a ‘test’ stream in early November.
Come and join me on stream now for the $50k Stake weekly giveaway and more 😃https://t.co/HZNK44wp1G
— Eddie (@StakeEddie) November 19, 2022
‘Eddiee’ is also listed as one of two admins on Kick’s official Discord channel.
An official ‘KickStreaming’ subreddit was opened on November 30. The account that created the subreddit has now been deleted.
A post that was removed by the moderators claims that users ‘CalebStake’ and ‘CalebKick’ were originally mods of the sub, but were deleted and replaced by brand new Reddit accounts created on December 6. Dexerto has confirmed both of these accounts previously moderated the sub before being deleted.
Why the mods were removed is unclear, but many accused Stake of trying to cover up their involvement with Kick.
Job listings found by a user on Reddit, posted by Australian-based start-up ‘Easygo’ reads:
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“Kick.com is a new venture created by the founders of Easygo and Stake.com with new studios in Australia and Europe. Kick Gaming’s vision is to be the leading content provider in the gambling industry thanks to its fresh approach to building top-notch slot and table games available to online casinos worldwide through a single API to its remote game server.”
Kick.com’s current ownership is still shrouded in mystery, but Trainwreck has now confirmed that Stake co-founder Eddie is an investor, in a message to The Washington Post.
Kick also told the post that Craven “is involved”, but said Stake itself is “not an investor.”
Despite saying he is a “non-owner advisor and non-exclusive broadcaster”, Train has implied that he has control over the site, stating: “The platform is still in the building stages. Kick will roll out these features in the near future under my direction.”
The streamer has boasted that the platform will be able to provide broadcasters with a 95% split of revenue from their streams, something which, while attractive, has some skeptical about the sustainability of the platform.
Stake has not publicly commented on any connection to Kick.com since Trainwreck’s December 5 announcement.
In September 2022, Twitch issued a policy update to gambling on the platform, which specifically mentioned Stake as a website that was no longer allowed on Twitch streams.
