Cyrus Hall, whose previous credits include engineering Twitch’s video content delivery network (CDN), suggested that streaming competitor Kick’s “real goal” is turning viewers into customers for the crypto gambling site Stake.

Hall lays his argument out in a Twitter thread. It begins by pointing out that Kick uses Amazon Web Services Interactive Video Service (AWS IVS). Hall describes this as “the Twitch video system wrapped in AWS APIs.”

Because Kick has to pay Twitch for this service and Amazon owns Twitch, Kick is effectively paying its biggest competition.

Twitch recently banned a lot of gambling content (and always seems to be on the verge of banning more of it), specifically streams of crypto casinos that are unregulated in the United States. In response, Kick has created a new home for some of these banned gambling streamers, and Hall has an idea as to why.

Maybe a sustainable streaming business is not the goal. Hall explains that “Kick is connected to a crypto gambling site (Stake)” and Stake may just be looking for a new platform to “lure gamers with.”

With Twitch banning gambling streamers, it looks like Stake is putting together its own streaming service with blackjack and…

Well, with at least definitely with blackjack.