New York
CNN Business
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Streaming giant Twitch said on Tuesday it would take additional steps to crack down on unlicensed gambling content on its platform after facing backlash from some top creators.
The Amazon-owned service plans to prohibit gambling sites from streaming on the platform without a license in the U.S. or “other jurisdictions that provide adequate consumer protections,” according to a company statement. post on twitter.
“While we prohibit sharing links or referral codes with all sites including slot machines, roulette or dice games, we have seen some circumvent these rules and expose our community to potential harm.”
The ban went into effect on October 18. The platform will continue to allow sports betting, fantasy sports and poker sites.
Gambling has found a foothold on Twitch. According to TwitchTracker, “slot machines,” where viewers can watch streaming bets on cryptocurrencies at online casinos, is now the tenth most-watched game on Twitch. Sites such as Stake.com, affected by the announced ban, have sponsored livestreams on Twitch to attract new players and allow them to use cryptocurrencies to gamble on their platform.
But in recent days, a Twitch streamer claimed to have swindled more than $200,000 from fans to fund his own gambling addiction after a Twitch streamer broadcast a video to fans over the weekend.
Top streamers have been calling for Twitch to ban gambling, with the hashtag #TwitchStopGambling trending on Twitter. Some also discussed a week-long boycott during the all-important holiday.
“Gambling is scary for platforms. Get rid of it,” said the popular streamer and chief marketing officer of influencer marketing agency Novo Studios Devin Nash, who had more than 150,000 followers on Twitch before leaving the platform last May, saying in a statement. wrote in the article twitter thread all weekend. “Gambling hurts young Twitch users, hurts legitimate advertisers, and reduces the quality of the entire site.”
