Streamer Tyler “TrainwrecksTV” Niknam became huge on Twitch gambling. But after restrictions on casino streams led to severe cuts, he announced an alternative to the streaming giant with Kick in December. We at MeinMMO show you how it works.
What platform is this? Kick is a streaming platform where mostly former casino streamers took refuge after Twitch tightened gambling regulations in October 2022.
What is Kick about? In particular, the online casino Stake, with which many gambling streamers had lucrative deals, was banned from Twitch. With the kick, however, it may be shown without restriction.
In addition, Kick attracts with relaxed regulations regarding the content shown and an “innovative creator program” where streamers should receive a regular income. On top of that, 95% of the revenue from subscriptions should go to the content creators, Kick only wants a 5% share.
“Twitch has lost touch with reality” – Major gambling streamer moves to new competition
For comparison: the standard split on Twitch is 50/50, although there have been special regulations for larger streamers for years, who after all received 70% of the income from subs. But that ended in September 2022, so content creators should be given a greater share of advertising revenue.
However, this caused a lot of displeasure among many streamers, which is why the desire for a serious alternative to Twitch is definitely there.
A new streaming competition poaching big streamers? That happened before… In 2019, the short-lived Microsoft platform Mixer got the then giant Ninja, among others, with an exclusive contract worth several million:
Fortnite to become the biggest streamer on Twitch – who is ninja and what is he doing today?
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Kick fishes huge streamers
How serious is Kick? With Adin Ross, the new platform has secured what is probably the biggest streamer to date. He is mainly on the road in “Just Chatting”, but also streamed 355 hours in the slots gambling category in 2022 (via sullygnome).
With nearly 7.25 million followers and an average of 62,000 viewers, Adin Ross is the 10th most-watched streamer in the world over the last 30 days (via sullygnome).
Some reports spoke of 150 million US dollars that Kick is said to have paid the streamer for an exclusive contract over 2 years, which has not yet been confirmed by him (via sportskeeda).
Although he is still reluctant to make a permanent and exclusive move, Adin Ross has already recognized some advantages of his new streaming home: He said he wants to stream on Kick because he can show everything there without fear of consequences – from sports Events he doesn’t have a license for to pornographic materials.
According to the US site Dot Esports, Kick also has regulations on what can be shown, but does not implement them (via dotesports.com.)
Asmongold: “I hope kick goes well”
How is that received? While some streamers and viewers are skeptical about the new platform, others probably rely on the saying: “Competition stimulates business”.
So does the MMORPG streamer Asmongold, who has often criticized Twitch in the past, especially in connection with the increasing advertising on the platform.
In response to a tweet about the move from Adin Ross, Asmongold said he hopes Kick goes well. It would be better for streamers and viewers if there was a little more competition in the live streaming area. We have included the post for you here:
Will Asmongold switch next? That is probably rather unlikely. After all, Twitch is still by far the largest streaming platform and Asmongold already has a huge community there. More likely, he’s hoping for improved terms for streamers if Twitch has to worry a bit about its big content creators to keep them there.
Sports events and swastikas on kick
How is the change going so far? So far, pretty much as many might have predicted, Adin Ross made his debut on Kick by broadcasting the entire Super Bowl to over 100,000 viewers. Meanwhile, in his chat, viewers used the rather lax moderation to spam dozens of swastikas or hate messages:
Even the streamer Trainwreck, probably Kick’s biggest supporter, has already criticized his new streaming home. In a now-deleted stream on Twitch, he was annoyed with gambling streamers who pad their viewership with bots and accused Kick of not doing enough about the practice (via dexerto).
As appealing as the idea of a free-for-all platform may be to some, Kicking it off quickly explains why Twitch has such a strict and detailed set of rules. It remains to be seen whether Kick can establish itself as a serious competitor in the long term.
Some German streamers also followed Kick’s call:
Casino ban halves 2 German Twitch streamers – Now they are gambling again, bypassing the ban like the big role model