Streamer and influencer Pokimane is in a tussle with rapper Drake after she questioned his decision to enter a partnership with online crypto casino Stake in early 2022.
On a streaming interview with fellow digital celebrity xQc, Pokimane said:
(When) I heard Drake was involved with Stake, my heart broke, I’m going to be honest. I’ve been a little Drake fangirl, you know the Canadian blood running through my veins, and I still love his music, but now I don’t love him as much as a person.
Drake responded with a Kendrick Lamar-esque dig at Pokimane: “Is it the braids??!?”
Though the rapper inked a partnership deal with Stake in 2022, his recent appearance on xQc’s Kick livestream is likely what spurred Pokimane’s criticism.
What’s important about the Pokimane-Drake controversy
Pokimane’s opposition to Drake’s partnership with an online casino brings up several important points.
First, the Stake brand may be familiar to American readers, even though they can’t legally access the company’s main crypto casino.
The reason is that there are two online casino platforms sharing the brand: Stake.com, which Drake promotes, is a real-money online casino using cryptocurrency transactions. It does not accept US players. However, Stake.us is a social casino using the sweepstakes model. American users can play there to earn Stake Cash, which they can redeem for crypto prizes.
Second, Stake is indirectly associated with live-streaming service Kick, which offers a range of content that includes streamers showing off their online casino sessions. The casino’s founders are majority shareholders in the streaming platform.
Third, Pokimane has long been a critic of that type of casino gaming. She was among the voices calling for Twitch—Kick’s main rival—to end its streams of users playing online casinos. Twitch has since put a number of limitations on gambling streams, including a ban on those showcasing unregulated gambling.
That change in Twitch’s policies led to a number of streamers leaving for Kick. Those include Pokimane’s interviewer, xQc, who hosted Drake on his channel and has occasionally done gambling streams of his own, though he’s best known as an Overwatch player.
The feud between the Pokimane and Drake highlights the complexities of endorsements, live streaming, and the risks of online casinos.
Exposure to gambling can have serious consequences for young viewers
Pokimane’s concern about streaming people playing online casinos is a legitimate one. Those under 18 are at an increased risk of developing problem gambling habits. At any moment, a teenager could go to Kick without logging in and watch a gambling livestream simply by clicking “Yes” when asked if they’re at least 18 years old.
And while watching a live stream of someone playing an online casino isn’t the same as an underage user playing an online casino, it still presents risks. For example, Kick streams don’t warn viewers of the risks of online gambling when they click on a gambling stream.
“Advertisements to gamble give young people the false impression that gambling is fun, or is an easy way to make money,” the Nebraska Commission on Problem Gambling notes. “Gambling industry advertising will fail to communicate the real risks involved with gambling. As a result, youth and young adults can quickly become addicted to gambling, accumulating debt, and even influencing their peers to gamble without realizing the long-term negative effects of developing this dangerous habit.”
Because of the lack of safeguards on Kick, it’s easy for an underage Kick user to lie about their age and immerse themselves in online casino streams.
That danger is one that Pokimane just isn’t comfortable with, as evidenced by her take on Drake’s Stake partnership.
Stake.us has responsible gaming measures in place
Amid Pokimane’s criticism of Drake’s partnership with an online casino brand, it’s important to point out that Stake’s US social casino has multiple responsible gaming measures in place. First, it requires identity verification to ensure that users are at least 21:
Second, the site has links to a gambling helpline and a link to an anonymous support website for problem gamblers.
