The streaming platform Kick wants to establish itself as a competitor to the dominant player Twitch and is throwing money around. Kick made a tempting offer to one of the biggest German streamers, Marcel “MontanaBlack” Eris (35). However, he explains what keeps him at Twitch: He doesn’t want to be seen as the “bad casino guy.”
What is the offer about? Kick was announced in December 2022 as a new and fair streaming platform. Twitch has built an empire on the backs of content creators and hardly supports them, criticized the streamer Tyler “Trainwreck” Niknam.
Behind Kick is the head of the disreputable online casino Stake, Ed Craven. It is hardly a coincidence that the new streaming platform launched just a few months after Twitch tightened its regulations on showing gambling, including banning Stake.
Currently, Kick is following the path that Microsoft once took with Mixer, attempting to woo big streamers from Twitch and YouTube. In particular, content creators who are considered not ‘brand-friendly’ for the established platforms are the target of Kick.
Now, MontanaBlack reports that he has also received a lucrative offer.
Kick has a problem, MontanaBlack knows
What does MontanaBlack think of Kick? In a stream on May 9, MontanaBlack casually opened some cases in CS:GO, criticized gambling – but only in the form of sports betting – and eventually mentioned Kick. At the moment, however, he does not consider moving his stream there.
Kick currently has a problem, according to MontanaBlack: They are seen as a “casino platform.” A switch would likely harm his image. The 35-year-old explains that “the media” would pounce on him if he went to a perceived casino website.
I really don’t want that. I don’t want to be the scapegoat and the idiot again because I stream on a platform funded by casino money. […]
All advertising partners would jump ship. Why? Because everyone wants to be politically correct and no one wants to be associated with casinos.
He has worked too hard in recent years to remain “spotless,” according to MontanaBlack. He is also afraid that he might have jeopardized his reputation for nothing if Kick were to fail. However, he also stresses that he would not be fundamentally opposed to streaming on another platform, including Kick.
He then revealed that he has already had discussions with Kick and received an offer from the streaming platform.
MontanaBlack stays with Twitch: He is simply too loyal
What kind of offer was it? As MontanaBlack says, the offer for a presumably exclusive streaming contract was for a low two-digit million amount, so at least 10 million – whether dollars or euros, the streamer leaves open.
10 million dollars would currently be equivalent to nearly 9.1 million euros (as of May 10).
Why isn’t MontanaBlack accepting? The streamer gives two reasons why the amount, which would be life-changing for many of his viewers, is not enough for him:
Half of it would go to “Father State” anyway – MontanaBlack is not keen on taxes. In addition, there is also his loyalty: he has worked with the same business partners for years, having gone through thick and thin with them.
So if he were to ruin his standing by switching, there would need to be enough in it to give his business partners a third and compensate them for lost advertising revenue.
For how much would MontanaBlack switch? He reveals it too: It would have to be “at least double or triple” the previous offer. At 50 million euros, preferably with half up front, he would not say “no”: After all, everyone has their price at some point.
