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Are Slots Banned on Twitch? We Explain All!
January 11, 2023
Are Slots Banned on Twitch? We Explain All!
January 11, 2023
Twitch Slot Ban: Real or Not? Let’s Find Out
In September 2022, popular streaming platform Twitch announced that it would be clamping down on gambling streams with a new content ban coming into effect the following month. This news shook the online gambling world and the many streamers earning an income from this fast-growing profession.
But visit Twitch today, enter “slots” in the search bar, and you’ll be bombarded with live streams and videos of online gambling (slots included), with more recent streams even coming from celebrities such as Drake, the rapper-gone-gambler boasting a multimillion-dollar partnership with 1 of the most popular live streaming casino sites on the web.
So, what’s the deal? Has gambling really gone fishing on Twitch? Recent events may prove otherwise, so let’s find out.
What do gambling streamers actually do?
They promote. In short, Twitch streamers that promote online gambling literally play casino games and stream them live from their Twitch channel. In most cases, these streamers are in partnership with online casinos that pay them a fee or work out some other incentives for their time and effort, similar to affiliate marketing.
Viewers can tune in and watch these streamers spinning the reels for riches on slots. In some cases, their bets can exceed the million-dollar mark. When Twitch announced the ban, many of the popular streamers ended their run with a final send-off stream before the ban came into effect.
One of the most recent and prominent of these final streams came from Drake, who, at one point, had over $12 million riding on the live roulette table – an event that took social media platforms by storm.
The ban was meant to take place on the 18th of October, 2022. However, there still seems to be a strong following on Twitch, with the “Slots” category still active with over 1.2 million followers – did Twitch forget their own policy change?
The Twitch gambling ban
Why exactly did Twitch ban the streaming of gambling-related activities on the site? The reasons for the ban were stated in an official notice from Twitch in September of 2022:
The public announcement states that only the streaming of gambling 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” are prohibited.
This clearly means that not all forms of gambling are prohibited and that only the streaming of casino games from certain sites will no longer be allowed.
One of the most prominent reasons for the ban, which is not mentioned in the official statement, came about with news of a popular Twitch gambling streamer by the name of Sliker who supposedly scammed his viewers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
This saw many popular Twitch streamers from other gaming categories threatening to boycott Twitch and remove themselves from the platform.
The community voiced concerns related to underage gambling and that casino streamers were promoting these activities to underage viewers. According to Twitch, nearly 75% of viewers are aged between 16 and 34.
When combining this knowledge with the National Center for Responsible Gaming’s findings that about 6 to 9 percent of youngsters struggle with gambling addiction, these claims start to bear weight.
Are slots banned from Twitch?
For now, it seems that the streaming of online slot games is still permitted on Twitch – provided that sufficient consumer protection laws and jurisdictional requirements are met.
The only gambling sites that have officially been banned thus far are Stake.com, Rollbit.com, Duelbits.com, and Roobet.com, but according to Twitch’s blog post that clarifies the ban, more casino sites may be identified in the future.
Until the recent ban, Twitch saw major growth when it came to casino streaming over the years, with over 127 million hours of casino streams viewed in the 2nd quarter of 2022 before the ban came about.
This number had certainly dwindled in the remaining quarters of 2022, with many streamers moving elsewhere and new streaming platforms such as kick.com emerging as key players in the online gambling streaming scene late last year.
The Twitch ban isn’t quite as it seems
Looking for a gig as an online casino streamer? It’s a dog-eat-dog world, but in our opinion, casino streaming is alive and well. Yes, Twitch has come down hard on these streamers but that doesn’t mean it’s all out the window.
There are loads of other sites – even YouTube, where streamers are finding a new home and scooping up a fresh batch of followers to view their vids. So, if you want to get in on the streaming game, you better get some practice first in our top casino games to see if you’ve got the skills to provide those thrills.
