Twitch announces it will ban users from streaming unlicensed gambling content
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Twitch on Tuesday announced a ban on streaming unlicensed gambling sites, including slots, roulette and dice websites, starting next month.
Sites that will be prohibited include Stake.com, Rollbit.com, Duelbits.com and Roobet.com. More websites may be banned later, Twitch said in a statement on Twitter. Websites focusing on sports betting, fantasy sports and poker will still be permitted.
Some of Twitch's biggest streamers — such as Imane “Pokimane” Anys, Matthew “Mizkif” Rinaudo and Devin Nash — threatened a boycott of the platform during the week of Christmas, Kotaku reported.
While gambling streams are not new to the platform, in recent years some on the platform have argued that "rich creators promoted potentially harmful content to young, impressionable fans," according to Kotaku. A number of creators have been pushing Twitch to do something about online gambling streams, citing potential dangers to younger users. Some have used the hashtag #twitchstopgambling on Twitter to raise awareness about the gambling streams.
Most recently, Twitch users expressed outrage after a streamer known as Sliker said he scammed his followers and other Twitch streamers out of money in the video game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. In a video uploaded Saturday, Sliker, whose real name is Abraham Mohammed, teared up after he claimed that he scammed people out of more than $200,000 to feed his gambling addiction.
Sliker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a lengthy Twitter thread Sunday, Nash wrote: “Gambling is horrible for the platform. Get rid of it.” He said it’s “damaging to young Twitch users, bad for legitimate advertisers, and brings down the quality of the whole site.” He also described the issue as “a platform problem, not a people problem.”
Pokimane : “like if twitch should ban gambling." The post got over 310,000 likes.
Twitch had already prohibited users from sharing links or referral codes to sites that feature slots, roulette or dice games. It said it is enacting the new policy because it has "seen some people circumvent those rules and expose our community to potential harm."
Twitch's new ban on the streaming of sites "that include slots, roulette, or dice games that aren’t licensed either in the U.S. or other jurisdictions that provide sufficient consumer protection" will go into effect Oct. 18, it said in its Twitter statement. Specifics about the updates to the policy will be shared before the rules take effect.
A spokesperson said Twitch had no further comment beyond the Twitter statement.
Pokimane celebrated Twitch’s announcement Tuesday, writing: “we did it y’all. public pressure, tweets, raising awareness, it all matters.”
Hasan Piker, who goes by Hasanabi on Twitch, also expressed enthusiasm. "W," he wrote, linking to Twitch's announcement.
