Crypto casinos are illegal in the US, but anyone savvy enough to use a VPN to mask their IP can access them, and funnel money into it using decentralized blockchain assets. But when Twitch banned crypto casinos from being promoted on its platform in 2022, they eventually branched out to Kick, Twitch’s edgier, wild west of a cousin. In 2023, it signed a two-year deal with xQc worth up to $100 million to have him stream exclusively stream on the platform. Top affiliates are paid six figure fees and higher to stream gambling content on a regular basis, former crypto casino employees told the newspaper. Two affiliate streamers told the NYT that the wagers in their videos have no real stakes.