Twitch is changing its policy amid growing concerns about gambling streams on the platform. The company said on Twitter that it will ban streams from gambling websites that feature slots, roulette, and craps games that aren’t licensed in the U.S. and other regions that “provide sufficient consumer protection.” The policy change will take effect on Oct. 18, and Twitch promises to release the entire policy and more details before that date.
Currently, the list of banned websites contains some of the most popular, including Stake.com, Rollbit.com, Duelbits.com, and Roobet.com. This isn’t surprising since you can already find a lot of streams with gambling content from these domains on Twitch.
Twitch reports that it “may identify others,” so the list of banned websites is likely to grow. However, the streaming platform will continue to allow websites dedicated to certain types of gambling, including sports betting, fantasy sports, and poker.
Twitch released this statement after some of the platform’s most popular streamers, including Pokimane and DevinNash, threatened to boycott the site during Christmas week. The request was to ban streamers and gambling sponsorships. Streamers united in response to another streamer’s admission that he cheated subscribers and fellow streamers out of about $200,000 to feed his Counter-Strike: Global Offensive addiction.
According to Kotaku, CS: GO has weapon skins with real monetary value, and gambling websites use them as casino chips. This revelation sparked a heated discussion about gambling streamers on Twitch: people pointed out that they could lead to cheating by streamers and harm young users of the website.
