Arteezy was one of several big streamers who made the move to Kick in November, and now the Dota 2 <\/em>community is voicing mixed feelings over the star\u2019s shift. It isn\u2019t just that his viewers seem to prefer Twitch drawing some ire, but also his pivot to broadcasting gambling.\u00a0<\/p>
It was recently reported by multiple big Kick streamers like xQc<\/a> and NICKMERCS that they either get paid to gamble on stream or gambling is baked into their contract<\/a> with the platform. While Kick isn\u2019t directly operated by the Australian-Cura\u00e7aoan online casino Stake<\/a>, where all of these streamers spend their gambling time, the content platform\u2019s co-founder Ed Craven does own the gambling operation.\u00a0<\/p>
That information about streamers with sizable followings in key markets essentially being signed in part to gamble on Stake seems to hold up since Arteezy has recently spent 11 hours broadcasting in the Slots & Casinos section on Kick. That is just a fraction of his 124 hours streamed to Kick since announcing his deal, of which 111 hours have been spent playing Dota<\/em> as he has quickly become one of the biggest broadcasters on the platform, according to Streams Charts<\/a>. <\/p>
Gambling has been a touchy subject in the streaming space for years, highlighted by Twitch banning traditional types of gambling from the platform and Kick putting a focus on that kind of content. Arteezy adopting it as part of his broadcasts has some viewers \u201cdisappointed\u201d in his decision<\/a>. “He always felt like the one who didn’t give a fuck<\/a> about anything else than Dota<\/em>\u201d and is sad to see. \u201cI think most realize that it’s a good financial move, it’s just disappointing to expose that gambling garbage to the fanbase that has supported him throughout his career,\u201d Reddit user zcen said<\/a>. It also doesn\u2019t help that it looks like he, along with other big players like Cr1t- and zai are openly pushing some kind of NFT project<\/a> on socials\u2014though Arteezy did take his post down<\/a>.<\/p>
The NFT thing is being panned by consensus, but there are plenty of viewers who are shrugging their shoulders at the Stake streams and just chalking it up to Arteezy getting the bag while Dota <\/em>goes through some changes for the upcoming season. Sure there are memes about Kick being his eventual retirement home<\/a>, but some don\u2019t see an issue<\/a> with him legally earning a paycheck through this deal as long as he continues to advertise it as \u201c18+ u will lose\u201d because his viewer base is likely to skew older.\u00a0<\/p>
The reaction has probably been lessened by the normalization of betting sponsors in Dota <\/em>over the last several years. Most top teams in the space, including the last five International winners\u2014Team Spirit, Tundra Esports, and OG\u2014are all being supported by a sponsor in the betting, crypto, or gambling scene. \u201cIdk why people act like gambling crap in Dota<\/em> isn’t normal when most teams are being sponsored by them or crypto,\u201d Reddit user reidraws said<\/a>. It also helps that Arteezy doesn\u2019t just sit for hours at a time gambling but rather mostly spends some time at the start and end of streams playing after playing an average of around six hours of Dota<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>
There’s also the ongoing discussion of ethical dilemmas in esports regarding taking money from shady sponsors or events like the Riyadh Masters and other Saudi-backed tournaments, which some users were quick to point out had plenty of top Dota <\/em>players and casters in attendance<\/a>. Because there are no guidelines in place for what can and can\u2019t be a sponsor in the scene, Dota <\/em>teams and players can continue to toe the line based on their own decisions\u2014whether fans agree with them or not.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
