The Twitch streamer, Marcel “MontanaBlack” Eris, is considering leaving Germany and relocating to Malta. He believes he pays too much tax in Germany, and “Father State” is now bothering him with new streaming regulations.
That’s why MontanaBlack is thinking about escaping from Germany: The biggest Twitch streamer in Germany is currently considering leaving Germany and emigrating to Malta. There seem to be mainly 3 reasons that he is contemplating emigration:
- The state bothers him in Germany with the “broadcast license” and instructs him on how he should stream
- In Malta, he would pay much less tax
- There he could again run casino streams, with which he was enormously successful in Germany in 2019, but probably no longer broadcasts for legal reasons
Receive lucrative offers from casinos in Malta
These are the financial reasons: In a Twitch stream, the 33-year-old explains that he received an offer from a casino years ago to emigrate to Malta. Back then, he decided against it because he did not feel ready to go abroad.
MontanaBlack said:
I received offers to go abroad 2 years ago. Pay less tax, do casino streams, and so on. […] I would have even become a partner in a casino. It would have been only 2 or 3 percent, but had I accepted those percentages back then, it would now be about 20 or 30 million euros, as far as I know; I would have to check again. And that’s not a lie, that’s absolute real talk.
MontanaBlack
The financial benefits of moving to Malta are clear for MontanaBlack. He explains this in a calculation example:
- If he earned a million euros per year, he would have to give the state in Germany 50%, or 500,000 €.
- In Malta, he pays a little more than 10%.
“I earn a million euros a year, and in the end, I give away 100 and have 400,000 € more in my account.”
That’s just “crazy, my great-grandfather, dude.”
Does he really earn a million euros a year? MontanaBlack only takes that number as an example. His actual income is likely higher: After all, MontanaBlack is not only one of the most successful Twitch streamers in Germany, but also excellent at self-marketing.
His merchandise with the slogan “Get on my level” apparently sells well, and he has already published two books that made it onto bestseller lists.
What makes the decision even more attractive now? The financial aspect that MontanaBlack extensively illuminates is not decisive for him, says the Twitch streamer later. Because money does not make you happy in the long run.
But now he is quite annoyed by the new rules for streamers. It seems that MontanaBlack is bothered by the fact that he can no longer do casino streams.
In Malta, he could bring casino content. There is always something there, it’s varied, explains MontanaBlack, whereas in the gaming market, he is too dependent on the release situation. And in gaming, there hasn’t been anything to play on his console for a year and a half.
Moreover, he admits that casino streams would also bring him more money. Although he emphasizes again that this is not important to him.
“I won’t let that happen to me!”
Above all, the rules about the broadcasting license seem to preoccupy MontanaBlack now. He says:
- the “pigs” are making his life hell with the broadcast license
- “Father State” suddenly tells him how he should stream. “Father State” demands that he only plays games rated 18 and above after 11 PM, and he won’t put up with that
That is now the biggest reason why he is once again considering the idea of emigrating. Previously, the idea had actually gone away; he built a house, settled down, and felt comfortable, but now “Father State” leaves him no choice.
MontanaBlack now feels that he has built something big over 8 years, but now “Father State” is putting such huge obstacles in his way with the broadcasting license that it is making him depressed. He now has problems getting out of bed in the morning because the topic burdens him so much.
MontanaBlack says: He won’t put up with all this anymore. He has to escape; he has no other choice.
What’s up with the broadcasting license? A new law stipulates that livestreamers on Twitch and YouTube are subject to the same rules as for television. However, channels that reach an average of fewer than 20,000 simultaneous viewers are exempt from these rules.
MontanaBlack is one of the few German streamers who reaches more than 20,000 viewers and falls under this new rule.
MontanaBlack has apparently tried to dilute his program on Twitch through repeated streams and bring his average viewer count below the 20,000 mark in order to avoid the need for a broadcasting license.
But that didn’t work: His popularity becomes his downfall, as he puts it.
Whether MontanaBlack will actually emigrate to Malta is still unclear at the moment. However, the topic is clearly on his mind.
He recently pointed out another advantage: In his hometown Buxtehude, it was 5 degrees on Wednesday night, while Malta lured with lovely 21 degrees. He’d rather be there, he says.
MontanaBlack raves in his Twitch stream about Malta, praises the weather and the good internet there. He says that from there he would produce less gaming content and more “IRL” content, meaning streaming from real life.
The last time he streamed “IRL” content from Malta, it didn’t go so well. He faced a 30-day ban on Twitch:
MontanaBlack makes Neanderthal calls against women – Would find Twitch ban okay
