Deputy Editor
Earlier this week, GGPoker announced it had added support for the streaming site Kick to its client. That could prove controversial, given the negative headlines Kick and some of its associated entities have garnered.
GGPoker has worked to set up a highly content-friendly client, encouraging its users to stream their play in hopes of publicizing the platform and poker at large.
Kick streamers can activate streamer mode and connect their accounts to earn 100% rakeback rewards. Qualified streamers must have streamed “consistently” for the past three months while averaging 40+ concurrent viewers.
“We are constantly looking for ways to empower these creators,” said GGPoker Managing Director Sarne Lightman in a press release. “Integrating a dynamic, creator-friendly platform like Kick into our Streamer Mode gives our players even more ways to build their brands, engage with fans, and maximize their rewards. We can’t wait to see the incredible content our community brings to Kick.”
Kick joins the more popular Twitch and YouTube as approved integrated platforms on GGPoker. While that seems like a relatively benign story, there is more to Kick than the press release suggests.
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Kick, Stake Have Been Targeted By Lawsuits
Kick is under the same ownership group as the popular crypto casino Stake. Stake also operates a similar U.S.-facing sweepstakes product.
The city of Los Angeles hit Stake and Kick with a lawsuit last year, alleging they “operated, controlled, promoted, and/or aided and abetted one of the largest and most profitable illegal casinos in California.” Kick, the lawsuit noted, was “created for the unlawful purpose of streaming illegal gambling.”
Kick was spawned as an alternative to more mainstream streaming sites when those entities began cracking down on gambling streams. Twitch was the most notable to do so, but poker players have had more than their share of issues with YouTube as well.
Stake has also come under legal fire in a variety of other suits. At the turn of the calendar year, news of a proposed class action lawsuit hit the wire. Plaintiffs made a number of allegations, including RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) charges. It also named popular rapper Drake and influencer Adin Ross as co-defendants. It said the two celebrities promoted illegal gambling while not actually betting their own money, but using house-provided funds as a promotional tool.
Kick Has Welcomed Caustic Streamers Like ‘Monarch’
Use of alleged house credit hasn’t been the only content-centered controversy regarding Kick. Perhaps even more galling was the platform’s association with Ossi ‘Monarch’ Ketola, a caustic figure who has engendered considerable discourse in the poker world.
Monarch briefly made waves in poker during the second half of last year, engaging in a series of ultra-high-stakes heads-up poker matches with some of the world’s top players.
However, during and in the wake of these matches, individuals around poker began calling out Ketola for his use of racial slurs and other transgressions.
Ketola has largely faded back into the shadows since, but he still streams on Kick occasionally. He uses it to promote his online casino, Duel.
GGPoker’s press release frames Kick right alongside other streaming platforms like YouTube and Twitch, but there’s more to its new partner than meets the eye.
Image credit: Jethrude Hippolito/Wikimedia Commons (license)
