Kick Gambling: Will Kick Become a Major Player in the Industry?

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Esports gambling and casino-friendly streaming platform Kick launched in October 2022 and the controversial new home for creators has gained significant traction. Here we take a look at Kick, Kick gambling, streaming, and what could be next in the platform’s rivalry with Twitch.

Kick officially launched in full in January 2023. It’s similar to Twitch, albeit with more flexible policies which we’ll come to later, and it also competes with YouTube Live and Facebook Live. It’s rumoured that crypto casino and gambling website Stake has ownership in Kick but appears thus far that Stake’s owner, Ed Craven, invests in or owns Kick but Stake itself does not. Kick’s legal entity is Kick Streaming Pty Ltd, and its only shareholder is Easygo Entertainment Pty Ltd, both registered in Australia.

kick gambling screenshot of homepage

Back in 2022, Twitch added policies to ban unlicensed gambling streams. It was also facing criticism over it’s 50/50 revenue split demands on creators. Kick launched in beta in October 2022 and in December prominent gambling streamer Tyler ‘Trainwreck’ Niknam pivoted to Kick. Trainwreck had planned his own streaming site but instead has reportedly become an advisor to the Kick platform.

By February 16, this year, Kick had tweeted the following, celebrating its achievement of 1 million users in just 69 days versus Netflix taking over three years, and Facebook taking 10 months.

On April 14, Streams Charts announced it was adding Kick statistics to the site and stated that Kick was already more popular than Trovo, Nonolive and Mildom.

Kick is marketed as creator-friendly, instead of taking a 50/50 cut like Twitch, it offers a 95/5 split in favour of streamers.

The new platform also gives creators 100% of it’s “Kicks,” the donations that happen in a stream. The financial incentive is certainly there for streamers to move to the platform and some are moving. Trainwreck’s move is hardly surprising, given Twitch’s block on gambling streaming and Kick’s more flexible policies. Though gambling streaming is blocked on Twitch, Twitch betting still happens on other sites as fans gamble on Twitch streamer performance.

kick gambling stream

On Kick, gambling streams are allowed, and they are some of the most popular content. Streamers can also multi-stream to Kick and it so far appears to have less moderation of content.

Other popular streamers that have made the move to Kick include Hikaru Nakamura, Adin Ross, Evelone, and Corinna Kopf.

There’s also the advantage for new streamers on Kick of less established competition. On a platform with a much smaller user base, it’s going to be easier to hit the top spot and keep it later as the platform grows.

Gambling streaming is the top category on the platform and is fast becoming home to those who create gambling, esports betting, slots, and casino content. It is also popular for Just Chatting, COD, Fortnite, Valorant, Apex Legends and music content.

How do Kick features compare?

kick gambling app streamKick is similar to its competitors; it has broad categories and includes much non-gaming content including those kick gambling streams.

Content and navigation are also similar but aside from Kick gambling rules, multi-streaming is allowed and there are more social features. Creators can stream games with friends from different locations. The platform’s mobile application also launched in March.

Kick controversies

Well, as controversies go, there may be a few appearing for Kick. Firstly, there are the more lenient policies including the Kick gambling stance. This is great for esports betting and the gambling industry but it may mean Kick draws unwanted attention and may even attract less savoury industry characters. Then, there’s whether Kick is connected to Stake and what that means, if anything, to the platform.

We’ve also mentioned Kick’s 95/5 revenue split in favour of streamers. This may be a model that’s untenable long-term for Kick to generate its own revenue. Some speculate that Kick’s ultimate goal could be to generate traffic for Stake and that the site is in fact “burning money,” with its setup.

For background, Stake was co-founded in 2017 by Ed Craven and quietly grew to become the world’s 7th largest gambling group by revenue. It offers crypto sports betting as well as crypto slots and casino-style gambling.

Another potential issue for Kick, in the press, is the reports of view botted streams and in particular view botted Kick gambling streams. In February, Trainwreck himself criticized the platform for allowing creators to inflate their views in this way.

Lastly, Kick’s more relaxed content policies have attracted streamers banned from Twitch. Though Kick has also banned streamers in recent weeks including one for having oral sex during a broadcast.

Adin Ross, is one former popular but also highly controversial Twitch streamer, now permanently banned from Twitch and who is now streaming on Kick, and he’s getting in trouble there too.

What’s next for Kick, and what will its influence be on the online gambling industry?

Devin Nash, former Counter Logic Gaming CEO and CMO of Novo Studios recently broke down Kick’s origins and its potential future. Nash outlines Stake’s involvement and how Stake was hit hard by the Twitch gambling crackdown.

NVIDIA’s Mark Cai also posted on LinkedIn about Kick, the debates on its legitimacy, and how streamers who have had issues on Twitch, even been banned, have moved to Kick. He finishes his post by saying:

“Either way it seems Twitch, YouTube, and now Kick it seems, are the top competitors in the streaming wars (in the West at least).”

Kick has indeed gained incredibly quick popularity, whether it retains that may depend on whether it continues its attractive revenue model for streamers and, like any company, how it weathers any controversies. Time will tell, and Stake’s involvement may be a clear one, or nothing direct at all. For the online gambling industry, the Kick gambling stance has made the platform a welcome destination for gambling streamers and by the statistics, the content is ever popular.

Images courtesy of Kick.com

Melanie Kramer
Melanie Kramer

Since: January 20, 2023

Melanie has covered blockchain, crypto, global business and markets, technology, and gaming since 2017 and began writing long before that. She has an avid interest in the intersection of these spaces and in emerging technologies.

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