The arrest of controversial online influencer Andrew Tate for alleged rape and human trafficking in Romania has shone a spotlight on the country’s burgeoning sexcam industry.
Within a decade it has ballooned from a niche activity to one of the world’s biggest purveyors of virtual sex, with an estimated 500 studios popping up across the poor Eastern European country.
But the industry fears the investigation into claims that Tate – a notorious misogynist – and his brother Tristan forced women into prostitution and sexcamming will tarnish their reputation.
Romanian sexcam operaters told AFP that they had no idea that the British-American kickboxer – who claims to have made millions from sexcamming – had a studio until the “scandal” broke.
“The Tate brothers are not known in the industry and have never participated in industry events,” said Maria Boroghina, a manager at Best Studios, one of Romania’s biggest sexcam operators.
A former camgirl herself, Boroghina is proud of her slick operation which takes up a whole floor of a glitzy glass building in central Bucharest.
“This job offers you the opportunity to earn big” from your early twenties, she said as young women in bathrobes stopped for coffee after several hours in front of the camera.
Boroghina said they had 160 women on their books. “The average monthly after-tax salary of our camgirls is $8,000 (7,500 euros),” about 10 times the average Romanian salary.
“Everything is transparent and legal,” she added. “The girls work under contract and receive between 50 to 90 percent of the money” they make for the studio, she added.
Clients pay between $2 and $10 per minute “for a private conversation with the girls,” who broadcast up to eight hours or more a day.
Romania’s startling success in the sexcam business has been driven by several factors, Boroghina argued.