Adin Ross, a popular streamer on the Stake-backed Kick platform, and sponsored by Stake themselves, is gaining some attention online after he claims he’s been scammed out of $20,000 by the gambling platform.
A video posted to the Reddit forum, LivestreamFails, showed Ross playing blackjack for his audience. During one round, it was cancelled and the money returned to Ross (in the video, it hadn’t been returned).
However, his overtly angry reaction at the time raised ire among his chat, with calls for the police to be called, customer support, and other less savory comments.
The post itself has been locked and effectively removed from the subreddit now, as the moderators have taken a closer look at the video. Ross’ anger might have been misdirected, but Stake also handled the situation without adding information.
Did Adin Ross get scammed for $20,000 by Stake?
No, Adin Ross didn’t get scammed. What had actually happened in the moment is that the scanning system did not pick up the cards properly. While Ross had 18, he actually had a soft 19. The dealer’s hand had also too much information surrounding it, unveiling that it was a 17. While Ross would have won the hand, the dealer decided to simply cancel the whole hand as if it never happened.
The consensus in the thread appears to be that Ross had overreacted and that this was probably entirely within Stake’s protocol.
Ross and Stake are symbiotic
Stake has risen to exponential levels in recent years, in part thanks to its mega deals with Adin Ross and celebrities like Drake. Its advertising practices have been called into question, but it is finding massive success with its quick games and people using it for attempts at going viral online.
Adin Ross is a little more of a love him or hate him figure. He’s known for his constant controversies, aligning himself with similar personalities to himself and even hosting Donald Trump during the 2024 election. His partnership with Stake has been criticized by some for glorifying gambling, and is partially why Twitch, the leading live streaming platform, clamped down on gambling streams in 2022.
Featured image: Wikicommons, Adin Ross