Trainwreck bringing Twitch gambling streams back despite ban concerns
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Tyler ‘Trainwreck’ Niknam is bored of the current Twitch meta, so he’s reviving his old stomping grounds from the dead: slots gambling. It comes after the Amazon-owned platform effectively banned gambling back in October following its meteoric rise.
Gambling on Twitch has been in the headlines for most of 2022 as the category floated in and out of the meta. Thousands of streamers were broadcasting themselves playing Slots in crypto casinos, getting big jackpots but also losing millions.
Twitch essentially banned the practice in October after a myriad of scandals on the platform. The straw that broke the camel’s back involved disgraced streamer ‘SlikeR’, who reportedly stole $250,000 from viewers to use on gambling off-stream.
At the time, slots streams were front and center on Twitch with the biggest names either taking part or having an adamant voice against it. It was in the top 10 categories on the platform — now it barely cracks the top 30 with a falling viewership.
Gambling streamers fled to other platforms such as DLive to continue their content, but Trainwreck stayed on Twitch. He’s been vocal about his discontent with the platform, even hinting at starting a potential rival.
Back playing games on stream, having not streamed Slots since October 17, he’s getting tired of the current meta though. His viewership has been in a steady decline since the rule change. He also hasn’t streamed much, last going live on November 3.
He’s looking for a kickstart. So he’s going back to the old faithful: gambling.
“Twitch has been boring. December 1. Gambling streams return,” he said on November 27. The tweet garnered plenty of attention as the date looms, although whether he commits to it in light of the new rules is unclear.
The gambling ban covers “luck-based games” like Slots, Roulette, and Blackjack. However games with an element of skill, such as Poker, are still allowed on Twitch. Train could opt to stream one of these safer games instead of going for Slots.
If Train does run it back, he risks losing his entire Twitch platform and millions of followers. But it’s a risk he’s willing to take all things considered as he contemplates his streaming future.
