Amazon-owned Twitch to Ban Crypto Gambling Livestreams
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Despite receiving backlash from influencers, Twitch is set to ban certain controversial crypto gambling live streams. Per an official Twitter post, the American live video streaming service will prohibit gambling sites like Stake.com, Rollbit, and Duelbits.com that “aren’t licensed either in the US or other jurisdictions that provide sufficient consumer protection.” Stake.com, for instance, is a company incorporated in Curaçao where it holds an online casino license.
As far as the date is concerned, the official post revealed that the ban will come into effect on 18 October.
“… we’ll be making a policy update on October 18th to prohibit streaming of gambling sites that include slots, roulette, or dice games…”
The platform will, however, continue allowing websites that focus on sports betting, fantasy sports, and poker to live stream. Furthermore, the statement added,
“While we prohibit sharing links or referral codes to all sites that include slots, roulette or dice games, we’ve seen some people circumvent those rules and expose our community to potential harm.”
Where does Crypto come into the picture?
A recent Bloomberg report on the same outlined that at any given time, roughly 50,000 people watch Twitch celebrities play slots, Blackjack, and other games based on probability. It is worth noting that they primarily gamble with cryptos like Ethereum and Bitcoin. Furthermore, Twitch’s gambling boom has been luring gamers into crypto casinos.
Per Frank DiGiacomo—an attorney who leads the gaming law group at Duane Morris LLP in Philadelphia—gambling is illegal in the US, even though it is permitted in other countries. Canada has reportedly been welcoming crypto operators, likely contributing to why some streamers have moved there. So now, if they reside in localities that do not provide sufficient consumer protection, they will not be able to live stream.
Furthermore, per a particular streamer, sites like Stake.com sponsor the biggest influencers for more than $1 million a month. And as a result, Bloomberg confirmed,
Twitch will ban controversial crypto gambling live streams after backlash against recent multi-million-dollar sponsorship deals enjoyed by top Twitch personalities.
