Popular streamer xQc has now come out and confirmed he is, in fact, paid to gamble on Kick. The conversation came up on stream in the wake of the latest NICKMERCS controversy, in which he disclosed certain Kick contracts have gambling requirements.
“I’ve never lied once about it…everyone knows I am,” xQc said in his own defense. Earlier in the stream, xQc called out NICKMERCS directly.
While Stake is clearly trying to differentiate their company’s offerings outside of gambling with their Kick brand, the two are inextricably linked. The top streams on Kick’s homepage heavily feature slots and other casino content, and Stake’s founders are also the founders of Kick.
The streaming war between Kick and Twitch has arguably never been sillier. While Twitch has made mincemeat of opponents like Mixer or Facebook Live in the past, Kick is making a dent in Twitch’s stranglehold with “creator-friendly” agreements and incentives. XQc signed a non-exclusive, two-year, $100 million deal (when incentives are added in) with Kick in June 2023.
However, questions about Kick’s ability to support these kinds of high-dollar contracts came to the forefront with its explicit focus on being pro-gambling. There are questions about whether an online casino that isn’t allowed to operate in the United States can give these contracts to streamers based there. While Twitch is no moral paragon, the controversial way in which Kick burst onto the scene has left viewers concerned.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with gambling, but it needs to be heavily regulated in order to protect those with addictions and tech-savvy kids who can easily bypass age checks. While Kick is tied to Stake, and essentially a marketing arm of the casino, it will continue to take criticism of its practices, including alleged incentives or explicit gambling requirements in its contracts.
