Shroud, a popular video game livestreamer known for his exploits playing first-person shooters like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and PUBG, is running a 30-day charity fundraiser called “Fragathon.” This is fantastic, but the problem for many viewers is that he has teamed up with Boxed.gg to be an event sponsor. Boxed.gg is a platform that allows users to virtually buy and open boxes of different types of trading cards, like Magic: The Gathering, and then have them physically shipped to the customer’s address.
viewers questioned why the usually beloved streamer was working with a sponsor that appeals to children
The Ontario native was live on stream when he spent $600 on Pokémon cards. Some viewers questioned why the usually beloved streamer was working with a sponsor that appeals to children and offers loot box-like elements, comparing it to gambling. One person remarked that the in-game currency diamond symbol on the Boxed.gg website is similar to what many popular crypto gambling sites offer.
DrLupo, a streamer who is helping Shroud with the month-long charity stream, refused several times to open these boxes when a viewer donated $100.
Shroud has raised over $630,000 to date for the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, which helps fight different forms of pediatric diseases and cancer. Popular gambling streamer Trainwreckstv has donated the most of any individual so far, contributing almost $101,000.