Popular Twitch streamer Zack “Asmongold”recently reacted to viral Reddit posts that suggest Kick is reserving spots on the recommended list for gambling streams. The connection of gambling with the up-and-coming website has been a huge point of contention in the streaming community, with people like xQc, Pokimane, and HasanAbi having heated debates on stream.
Asmongold is a veteran Twitch streamer who recently called for a boycott of the platform after their disastrous branded content policy. He has been quite open about Kick, and while reacting to Reddit on his stream today, the streamer came across a post that claimed the platform was reserving specific spots, namely the third and the fifth, for gambling streams.
In a matter-of-fact tone, Zack told his viewers that this was expected as the platform is inextricably linked with the crypto-gambling website Stake and that the decision to promote it is “probably smart.”
He said:
“‘Kick’s recommended seems to reserve the third and fifth spots for gambling streams.’ There’s a chance that could be the case, I mean listen. Obviously, they’re going to make money off of gambling. This is probably smart to do.”
The OTK co-founder refrained from criticizing the move, saying that Amazon, the parent company of Twitch (which is the platform where he streams), has partnerships with the gambling website DraftKings and that criticizing Kick would be hypocritical.
“The truth is that… I’m not gonna be sitting here moralizing about how bad this is when Amazon has a partnership with DraftKings.”
“It could be hard coded in”: Asmongold reflects on the implications of Kick reserving and promoting gambling streams
Readers should note that while there is an undeniable connection between Kick and Stake, Ed Craven, the co-founder of both, has repeatedly claimed that the crypto-gambling casino has no impact on the streaming platform after big streamers such as Pokimane objected to xQc’s recent deal with the company.
However, many people online are suggesting that the platform may have been reserving spots on the recommended list for gambling streams, therefore promoting gambling to its audience. Visiting the home page of the website does seem to corroborate the claims. Here is a screenshot of the home page with the gambling streams highlighted in red. Reloading the website may change the individual channels, but the third and fifth spots on the left are always gambling streams.
Asmongold has talked about a potential move to the platform in the past and has taken a neutral point of view in the Kick vs Twitch debate. While reacting to the posts about the former platform potentially hard coding gambling streams, the MMO streamer again cited the DraftKings and sports betting that occurs on Twitch and reiterated that he will not “talk about how bad this is”:
“Coincidence? It could be. Or it could be hard coded in, I don’t know. But like, I don’t want to sit here and talk about how bad this is. Like, Bro… Is sports betting more popular than Slots, I feel like it is. I feel like it’s more popular, yeah it’s way more popular.”
Coming to the conclusion that sports betting is more popular than slots, Asmongold essentially dismissed any criticism of the Stake-owned platform, saying:
“So then, what are we talking about here? That’s whatever… People are so weird about this, they are like, ‘Oh it’s actually gambling, they’re trying to get you to gamble…’ Who gives a f*ck about that? Who cares?”
Reddit reactions
Here are some reactions from the streamer-focused subreddit r/LivestreamFail about Asmongold’s clip.
Comment by u/Every-Lab-1755 from discussion Kick site is hardcoded to promote gambling streams (3rd and 5th spot reserved) in LivestreamFail
Comment by u/noVa_bolt from discussion Kick site is hardcoded to promote gambling streams (3rd and 5th spot reserved) in LivestreamFail
Comment by u/__Hello_my_name_is__ from discussion Kick site is hardcoded to promote gambling streams (3rd and 5th spot reserved) in LivestreamFail
Comment by u/vcb2 from discussion Kick site is hardcoded to promote gambling streams (3rd and 5th spot reserved) in LivestreamFail
Comment by u/MemorySnake from discussion Kick site is hardcoded to promote gambling streams (3rd and 5th spot reserved) in LivestreamFail
Readers might find it interesting that Kick was recently banned in Greece after the website was categorized as a gambling platform by the government.
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