Pastures new
Imagine a player for your favorite sports team becomes disgruntled after deciding they don’t earn enough money. They decide they’re going to join a new team in the same league, and not just any club… your team’s biggest rival.
Needless to say, that move is going to irritate the owners of your favorite team. Well… now think about how much that annoyance would be amplified if the player continued using your team’s pitch to train. In some ways, that’s the case for Stake right now.
bypassing Twitch’s ban on unregulated casinos
The crypto casino created the streaming platform Kick in 2022 as a platform where its streaming partners could play online slots, bypassing Twitch’s ban on unregulated casinos. But now, some of those stars are shifting to competitors, all the while still using Kick’s streaming platform to tout their own casino’s wares.
Now, even Kick collaborator Trainwreckstv is questioning his future with Stake. So, who has left so far, and could Train be the leader of a mass exodus of streamers in the future?
How it began
To explain the current situation, we have to take you back to the very beginning of Kick.
Major gambling streamers such as Train and Roshtein made a name for themselves on Kick. Boasting more than one million followers on the platform each, they played high stakes real money slots on Stake. The Eddie Craven-owned crypto casino paid top streamers a substantial amount through sponsorship deals, and in return Stake was their sole casino of choice when they would gamble on-stream.
the slot gambling category on Twitch lost 97% of its viewers
However, in a move that seemed to shock the crypto casino community, Twitch decided to ban unregulated casino content in October 2022, that included the likes of Stake, Rainbet, and other offshore crypto casinos. Almost overnight, the slot gambling category on Twitch lost 97% of its viewers and crypto casinos were left scrambling for a new way to promote themselves using streaming partners.
Almost immediately, Train made his plans clear. He wanted to make a new platform, and in stepped Stake to help the Texan do just that. Train was one of the first to join that new platform, Kick, in December that same year. Declaring that Twitch had “lost its grasp on reality,” he made clear that Kick would reward streamers with a favorable 95% sub split, all of the tips, and other regular income.
The exodus to Kick
Roshtein and Xposed both swiftly made the switch to Kick too, and it wasn’t long before others joined.
Adin Ross, a controversial star with more than 7 million followers on Kick, joined the new platform in January 2023. He was often banned on the Amazon-owned Twitch and said that he felt more welcome on the new free-speech favorable Stake-backed platform. He is now a top creator on Kick, with nearly 2 million followers.
As Kick launched its mobile app in March 2023, Train teased six more high-profile mystery signings. One of those happened to be major Canadian streaming start xQc, one of the most-followed Twitch content creators, with more than 12 million followers. He signed a $100m deal with Kick that at the time, matching Lebron James’ Lakers contract.
Some other major names who made the switch include chess master GMHikaru, one of Twitch’s major female streamers Amouranth, and gambling streamer Cuffem.
Rumblings of discontent
Xposed was one of the first Stake partners to make the shift to another crypto casino within the Kick era. The Canadian, real name Cody Burnett, announced his departure for Roobet in March of 2024. He initially started his streaming career with Roobet years ago, but swapped to Stake in 2021, spending two years with Craven before returning to his original partner.
Commenting on the move, Xposed said he received a message from Roobet asking “if we wanted to get the band together” and “it felt f*cking right.” Despite leaving, he made sure to highlight that he had no hard feelings towards Stake, although with nearly 200,000 followers on Kick, it’s no doubt his move was a source of pain to the casino.
he had signed with Rainbet for a $50m signing bonus
Adin Ross was the next to fall. The controversial American streamer confirmed that he had signed with Rainbet for a $50m signing bonus in September of 2025. He would reportedly receive $200,000 in raw balance as part of the deal too. With 1.8 million followers on Kick, Ross was a huge loss to the promotional powers of Craven’s casino.
Smaller streamers have moved away from the Stake ecosystem as well. Led by Adin Ross, his SSB (Stacy’s Step Bros) group has also transitioned. This includes Cuffem, Konvy, Cheesur, and ShnaggyHose, among others. Outside of SSB, there is Mydaddysteve, Chuck Mundy, Lobanjicacs, and Dinah, although their particular deals are less public. What is clear is that they now gamble on alternative crypto casinos.
Train isn’t happy
Perhaps the most interesting part of this progressing story is the potential for Stake’s biggest weapon to turn against it. As mentioned earlier, Trainwreckstv was the brains behind a new platform for gambling streamers, and worked with Stake throughout its creation in an attempt to ensure it benefits the streamers themselves. However, he feels certain expectations are not being met.
Commenting earlier this month, Train threatened that he could lead a mass exodus of streamers from Stake if things remain the way they are. He appeared on Cheesur’s stream and called Eddie Craven “a shark,” claiming that he could not trust him. Stating that it “might be time for a revolution,” he accused Stake of lowballing streamers and allowing big names to gamble with fake balances.
Check out the rant below:
It isn’t the first time Train has criticized Stake and its owner either. In 2024, the streamer (real name Tyler Niknam) hit out at Stake for complacency in a “f*cking scam.” In a stream with xQc, Train said Stake allowed streamers to fake their winnings, lying to viewers.
In the past, he has called out Roshtein particularly for this kind of behavior. Last year, when Roshtein broke his world record slot win in less than a week of him setting it, using what he deemed a “fake balance,” Train said he was questioning his future with Stake. VegasSlotsOnline News investigated this controversy in a recent article.
Train’s X post at the time shows his frustration:
The future
It seems that if Stake doesn’t do something to address Train’s grievances, then his claim that “change is coming” to the streaming platform might not be an empty threat. Stake has already lost Adin Ross and Xposed, but that might be nothing compared to the exodus that Train hints at.
Our eyes are certainly fixed on the situation as it unfolds in this space, which is always laden with drama. We predict that the next nine months will be an important period for the crypto casino giant Stake and its often-criticized owner.
Stay tuned.
