Twitch bans streaming of unlicensed gambling content
As the old saying goes, “Money talks and bull…,” Well, you get the point.
And now, so does Twitch. On Tuesday, the Amazon.com, Inc. livestreaming platform announced that it’s going to crackdown on certain types of gambling sites for the good of the people, in particular young people.
Effective 18 October, Twitch, announced on Twitter, that it is prohibiting 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. These sites will include Stake.com, Rollbit.com, Duelbits.com, and Roobet.com. However, we may identify others as we move forward.”
It should be noted that Twitch did not say that all gambling will be banned from its site. In fact, Twitch said, “We will continue to allow websites that focus on sports betting, fantasy sports, and poker. We’ll share specifics on the updates to our Gambling policy soon, including the full policy language, to make sure everyone is clear on our new rules before they take effect on October 18th.”
The issue of gambling on Twitch really came to a head last weekend when Twitch streamer Abraham Jehad “Sliker” Mohammed revealed in an emotional video over the weekend that he had scammed his followers and other streamers out of $200,000 (€199,815) to fund his Counter-Strike: Global Offensive gambling addiction. Fighting back tears, he said he started gambling with CS:GO skins but then moved onto real money gambling and "lied to so many people."
Twitch’s statement followed Mohammed’s admission. However, this decision didn’t just come about in the boardroom. It’s been blowing up online for a while and Twitch paid attention when its wallet got a scare.
The awakening came in the form of Imane Anys, who’s better known to her over nine million Twitch followers as “Pokimane.” On Tuesday, 18 September, the 26-year-old gamer, who also happens to currently be the most-followed female streamer on the Twitch, tweeted out in the afternoon to her over four million Twitter followers, “like if twitch should ban gambling.”
Later Tuesday night, Matthew Rinaudo, who’s better known to the streamer’s over 2 million Twitch followers as “Mizkif” joined “Pokimane.” “Mizkif” tweeted “like if @twitch should ban gambling” and then doubled down with the tweet, “#TwitchStopGambling.”
If these messages didn’t get the attention of Twitch, then a tweet later that night from Zach Bussey, who covers streamer stories, certainly did. Bussey tweeted, “Pokimane, Mizkif, and Devin Nash talking about early plans to make a joint statement with other top streamers that unless @Twitch takes action on gambling, they will hit them economically during the holiday season (peak ads).”
Devin Nash, a senior gaming industry consultant and co-founder of novo.tv, tweeted Tuesday that “Twitch doesn't pull the trigger for the same reason simple changes take years on the website. The right people don't care. The good people in partnerships and PM positions working hard don't have the corporate clout to push the issue through leadership.”
Well, it appears Pokimane, Mizkif and Nash do have the clout.
Following Twitch’s announcement, Pokimane tweeted out “we did it y’all. public pressure, tweets, raising awareness, it all matters.”
And now, so does Twitch. On Tuesday, the Amazon.com, Inc. livestreaming platform announced that it’s going to crackdown on certain types of gambling sites for the good of the people, in particular young people.
Effective 18 October, Twitch, announced on Twitter, that it is prohibiting 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. These sites will include Stake.com, Rollbit.com, Duelbits.com, and Roobet.com. However, we may identify others as we move forward.”
An update on gambling on Twitch. pic.twitter.com/lckNTY9Edo
— Twitch (@Twitch) September 20, 2022
It should be noted that Twitch did not say that all gambling will be banned from its site. In fact, Twitch said, “We will continue to allow websites that focus on sports betting, fantasy sports, and poker. We’ll share specifics on the updates to our Gambling policy soon, including the full policy language, to make sure everyone is clear on our new rules before they take effect on October 18th.”
The issue of gambling on Twitch really came to a head last weekend when Twitch streamer Abraham Jehad “Sliker” Mohammed revealed in an emotional video over the weekend that he had scammed his followers and other streamers out of $200,000 (€199,815) to fund his Counter-Strike: Global Offensive gambling addiction. Fighting back tears, he said he started gambling with CS:GO skins but then moved onto real money gambling and "lied to so many people."
Twitch’s statement followed Mohammed’s admission. However, this decision didn’t just come about in the boardroom. It’s been blowing up online for a while and Twitch paid attention when its wallet got a scare.
The awakening came in the form of Imane Anys, who’s better known to her over nine million Twitch followers as “Pokimane.” On Tuesday, 18 September, the 26-year-old gamer, who also happens to currently be the most-followed female streamer on the Twitch, tweeted out in the afternoon to her over four million Twitter followers, “like if twitch should ban gambling.”
like if twitch should ban gambling
— pokimane ?? (@pokimanelol) September 18, 2022
Later Tuesday night, Matthew Rinaudo, who’s better known to the streamer’s over 2 million Twitch followers as “Mizkif” joined “Pokimane.” “Mizkif” tweeted “like if @twitch should ban gambling” and then doubled down with the tweet, “#TwitchStopGambling.”
like if @Twitch should ban gambling
— Mizkif (@REALMizkif) September 18, 2022
— Mizkif (@REALMizkif) September 19, 2022
If these messages didn’t get the attention of Twitch, then a tweet later that night from Zach Bussey, who covers streamer stories, certainly did. Bussey tweeted, “Pokimane, Mizkif, and Devin Nash talking about early plans to make a joint statement with other top streamers that unless @Twitch takes action on gambling, they will hit them economically during the holiday season (peak ads).”
Pokimane, Mizkif, and Devin Nash talking about early plans to make a joint statement with other top streamers that unless @Twitch takes action on gambling, they will hit them economically during the holiday season (peak ads).#TwitchNews #TwitchStopGambling pic.twitter.com/pyQPINTOu3
— Zach Bussey (@zachbussey) September 19, 2022
Devin Nash, a senior gaming industry consultant and co-founder of novo.tv, tweeted Tuesday that “Twitch doesn't pull the trigger for the same reason simple changes take years on the website. The right people don't care. The good people in partnerships and PM positions working hard don't have the corporate clout to push the issue through leadership.”
Twitch doesn't pull the trigger for the same reason simple changes take years on the website. The right people don't care. The good people in partnerships and PM positions working hard don't have the corporate clout to push the issue through leadership.
— Devin (@DevinNash) September 18, 2022
Well, it appears Pokimane, Mizkif and Nash do have the clout.
Following Twitch’s announcement, Pokimane tweeted out “we did it y’all. public pressure, tweets, raising awareness, it all matters.”
we did it y’all.
— pokimane ?? (@pokimanelol) September 20, 2022
public pressure, tweets, raising awareness, it all matters. https://t.co/FtC7h0Za7e