Twitch Gambling Announcement isn’t a Ban
The announcement from Twitch regarding its gambling content basically singles out streaming casino sites that are not licensed in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. So it can be interpreted that those casinos licensed with Kahnawake and the UK Gambling Commission will still be streamable. Websites that have poker, sports betting, and fantasy sports are still permitted. It is a step to not permit properly licensed casinos to be broadcast, but it is a much smaller step than some are giving it credit.
This is NOT a gambling ban. Headline readers are getting this wrong. Twitch doesn’t say they are banning luck-based gambling – ONLY certain websites that “aren’t licensed in the U.S.” – Unfortunately, this leaves plenty of room for gambling to remain on the website come Oct. 18th pic.twitter.com/99s2A7Hzd0
— Devin (@DevinNash) September 20, 2022
Twitch then released a statement the next day saying they are cutting the 70/30 deal they have with popular streamers to 50/50 after the first 100k. They went on to boast about the 55% ad revenue share they are offering. With this statement being so close to the one the previous day, we asked Twitch via Twitter if the two statements are related, but did not receive a response.
Twitch Gambling Soft Ban on Specific Sites
Some larger influencers may have misread the announcement and believe it to be an all-out ban on gambling streams.
Recent Twitch Gambling Controversy
Both announcements come on the heels of a controversy where a partnered broadcaster scammed thousands of dollars from other streamers and viewers. The scammed money was used to support the partner’s gambling addiction. Several Twitch streamers have come forward about having given money to the scammer. The scam generated roughly 300k USD.
Twitch streamer Sliker has been accused of messaging dozens possibly hundreds of viewers and streamers asking for money and failing to repay them. With some people giving him thousands and others even tens of thousands of dollars. pic.twitter.com/Gw1Esf98mi
— Jake Lucky (@JakeSucky) September 18, 2022