Gambling on Twitch – Why Isn’t Betting-Themed Content Allowed?

The Twitch streaming platform has always existed on the edge of controversy, with its relatively lax content guidelines causing numerous fallouts over the years. Gambling on Twitch remains a particularly contentious topic, thanks largely to the platform’s impressionable young audience and the continued pushback by established streamers such as Pokimane (Imane Anys), Mizkif (Matthew Rinaudo), and Devin Nash.

Unsurprisingly, the last two years or so have seen the Amazon-owned Twitch reluctantly introduce more stringent content guidelines pertaining to online gambling and betting. But how has the drama unfolded during this time, and what does the future hold for remote betting streamers on Twitch? Let’s find out!

• A Look Back at the Initial Growth of Twitch Online Casino Content
• How New Community Guidelines Targeted Casino Online Twitch Content
• How Pushback and Controversies Triggered New Changes in 2022
• Banning Live Streams and Offshore Betting Sites
• Ofcom Reports Improvements and Better Safeguards for Twitch Viewers
• The Future for Twitch – Could Gambling Streamers Be Lured by Rival Platform Kick?

A Look Back at the Initial Growth of Twitch Online Casino Content

Of course, gambling on Twitch is nothing new, with this introducing significant earning opportunities for streamers prior to 2022. In fact, the site’s casino section began to enjoy exponential growth in 2018, following the legalization of sports betting in the US at federal level and continued expansion of the UK iGaming market.

A number of casino online Twitch channels launched around this time, including those belonging to Trainwreckstv (Tyler Niknam), xQc (Félix Lengyel) and Adin Ross. The former has previously disclosed earnings in excess of $1 million from his sponsorship by crypto casino Stake, whereas Adin Ross banked up to $900,000 per week from the same brand.

Outside of these lucrative sponsorship arrangements, the leading iGaming streamers also earned revenue by sharing direct links or referral codes for third-party brands. Such promos were usually aimed at games of chance such as slots, dice and roulette, which remain enduringly popular among casual players and the younger demographic of online casino goers.

How New Community Guidelines Targeted Casino Online Twitch Content

Over time, the proliferation of Twitch online casino content began to create significant controversy and issues. One of the key bones of contention was the Twitch audience demographics, with some 75% of the community aged between 16 and 34 by 2021. At the same time, many iGaming channels were thought to leverage bots to artificially inflate viewerships and promote slots on target sites.

Given these factors and the increased scrutiny of the site’s demographics, Twitch moved to introduce more stringent content guidelines for gambling streamers towards the end of 2021. As part of the updated community guidelines for gambling on Twitch, streamers were prohibited from sharing direct links that referred users to platforms offering dice games, roulette or online slots.

However, this had little direct impact on live casino Twitch streamers or the platform’s biggest operators. In fact, categories such as online video slots retained a one million-strong following, while iGaming live streams continued to attract viewership in excess of 40,000 concurrently.

As a result, the Twitch online casino guidelines remained a source of controversy, with several high-profile streamers from different genres voicing their own concerns and requesting more significant change.

How Pushback and Controversies Triggered New Changes in 2022

The decision of several high-profile streamers to get involved was key, especially given their own reach and popularity among viewers. In the case of Pokimane, for example, she boasts more than nine million followers and earns an estimated $18,000 per month in basic earnings. She regularly streams popular games like Valorant and Fortnite, and boasts an impressive net worth of $25 million.

Even among viewers and observers, the simple act of removing affiliate links from Twitch failed to provide adequate protection to younger viewers and potentially vulnerable gamblers. At the same time, some streamers sought to negate the new restrictions by placing direct links and referral codes in the Discord communities and through similar channels.

In addition to this sustained lobbying and the relative lack of effective administrative action, the casino online Twitch community was further rocked by the alleged actions of ‘ItsSliker’. A streamer and former member of Team Liquid, he admitted to stealing as much as $200,000 from fans and fellow streamers in 2022, in order to fuel his growing gambling addiction.

Banning Live Streams and Offshore Betting Sites

It was in September 2022 that Twitch decided to take further action, as they expanded their existing community guidelines and targeted offshore betting sites. More specifically, they moved to prohibit the streaming of slots, roulette and dice gameplay through betting sites that were not licensed by a reputable iGaming authority, such as the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) or Malta Gaming Authority (MGA).

This included sites licensed in Curaçao and similar Central American regions such as Panama and Bermuda. Although these offshore casinos are licensed, they lack sufficient regulatory measures to protect players, while they often accept crypto deposits that aren’t subject to Know-Your-Customer (KYC) protocols.

Among the sites immediately affected were Rollbit, Roobet and Duelbits, alongside the aforementioned Stake. These crypto iGaming platforms were dominant on the platform, and accounted for the vast majority of live streamer sponsorships and endorsements.

Of course, this was yet another incremental measure that sought to regulate online gambling Twitch content without introducing an outright ban. It also ensured that viewers could continue to live stream content focused on sports betting and poker, and once again, critics suggested that it was inadequate for the purpose of protecting audiences.

Partially as a result of this, Twitch has subsequently sought to ban certain iGaming channels from livestreaming content. This was an initiative that saw four platforms outlawed in October 2022, before a subsequent expansion in the summer of 2023 prohibited live streams featuring the Blaze and Gamdom casinos.

Blaze and Gamdom were banned despite not being officially available in North America. The reason for this is that these crypto casinos can be easily accessed using virtual private network (VPN) clients, which mask the user’s IP address and geographical location. This is a decision that could impact similar casino brands going forward.

Ofcom Reports Improvements and Better Safeguards for Twitch Viewers

The summer of 2023 also saw Twitch significantly strengthen its content classification labels. This involved the creation of additional and more specific tags, which could be added and removed seamlessly during live streams. This was done to help safeguard viewers at all times and accurately highlight adult content in real-time.

According to Ofcom, this quickly resulted in a 22% increase in the number of gambling streamers that were correctly labelled as sharing mature content. This improvement occurred during the 30-day grace period immediately after the new rules were implemented, following analysis of more than three million streams. The data was compared with the figures generated between March and December 2023.

Prior to the implementation, Ofcom revealed that barely 65% of live gambling streams were correctly labelled as being for mature audiences. So, the administrative decisions taken by Twitch are clearly leading to incremental improvements, while helping to protect viewers who are at risk of becoming problem (or even underage) gamblers.

The Future for Twitch – Could Gambling Streamers Be Lured by Rival Platform Kick?

The crackdown on streaming games of chance through offshore casino brands has ultimately proved successful for Twitch, especially from the perspective of safeguarding the platform’s younger audience. What’s more, streamers can still broadcast content pertaining to sports betting, video poker and daily fantasy sports, and this is unlikely to change any time soon.

However, streamers like Asmongold and the aforementioned Pokimane continue to advocate for a full-scale ban of gambling content on the site. At the same time, Twitch has continued to face competition from the Kick streaming platform, which has historically adopted similar content guidelines to its closest rival.

Although Kick currently has a similar policy to Twitch in terms of prohibiting referral links and the advocacy of promotional ‘buy-ins’, it does allow streamers to broadcast a much larger selection of casino games. These include online blackjack, although access to games like this is subject to the laws and restrictions in specific countries.

What’s more, Kick is more likely to loosen its regulations for online gambling, especially sites that allow for the use of Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies. This is because Stake’s co-founder is an active investor in the Kick platform, and continues to lobby for less stringent guidelines when promoting crypto casinos. Remember, Stake and any associated streams are currently banned on the Twitch site.

With this in mind, Twitch faces a challenging future in 2025 and beyond. While some of its most generative and highest profile streamers continue to advocate for a complete ban on gambling content, rival platforms like Kick are potentially looking to loosen their own guidelines. Ultimately, Twitch will have to decide which path it wants to follow and develop a cohesive strategy going forward.