Twitch expands ban on gambling livestreams
2 August 2023, 19:34
The gaming platform also said that viewership of the content is down by 75%.
Amazon-owned Twitch has said it is expanding its ban on livestreams of gambling content on the platform.
The company said it will now prohibit streams of online casinos Blaze and Gamdom, adding to the four sites it banned last October when its new gambling policy went into effect.
Twitch announced the restrictions after controversy broke out on the platform last year involving a streamer accused of scamming users and other content creators out of thousands of pounds to fuel a gambling addiction.
𧔠Today, weâre adding two additional gambling sites â Blaze and Gamdom â to our list of prohibited sites, and sharing learnings from last yearâs policy change.
Our goal now, as it was last fall, is to protect our community, address predatory behavior, and make Twitch safer. https://t.co/38I274nXCt pic.twitter.com/RJfm0TqMDa
â Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) August 2, 2023
That led some big-name streamers to protest against the platformâs relaxed policies on gambling streams.
As the pressure intensified, Twitch said it would prohibit websites that include slots, roulettes or dice games and are not âlicensed either in the US or in other jurisdictions that provide sufficient consumer protectionâ.
Blaze and Gamdom are not available in the US but users can still gain access using virtual private networks that mask their locations.
In a post on Twitter, which was recently rebranded as X, the company said its goal is âto protect our community, address predatory behaviour, and make Twitch saferâ.
Twitch said it saw gambling viewership drop by roughly 75% after it implemented the new policy last year, but noted it has also âobserved some new trendsâ and is updating its policy to better protect users.
The company also prohibits sharing links or referral codes to sites that include slots, roulette, or dice games to address what it said were scams and âother harms stemming from questionable gambling sitesâ. It allows websites that focus on sports betting, fantasy sports and poker.
