In a recent stream, Twitch streamer Trainwreck slammed the platform for its stringent policies on gambling streams. The growth of gambling streams on Twitch was rapid and marked by significant success, but it also sparked intense controversy. Many popular Twitch streamers entered into lucrative partnerships with gambling companies, but as the morality and legality of these streams were called into question, Twitch faced mounting pressure to take action. In response, the platform announced a ban on "unlicensed" gambling content in late 2022, which had been a significant source of complaints and controversy.
The changes to Twitch's gambling ban policies were introduced to address unlicensed gambling sites offering popular games like slots, roulette, and dice, which are not regulated by the USA. To enforce this ban, Twitch specifically targeted popular streamers' preferred gambling sites, such as Stake.com, utilized by well-known streamers like xQc and Trainwreck. However, the platform has also stated that it will continue to monitor and identify additional sites in the future that may violate the updated policy.
Twitch's ban on gambling streams caused quite a stir in the streaming community, particularly among gambling streamers. One of the most prominent streamers, Trainwreck, was so unhappy with the decision that he decided to leave the platform and move to a new one called Kick. In a recent broadcast, Trainwreck demonstrated the hypocrisy of the ban by showing his viewers multiple streams that were still up on Twitch, openly playing slots and virtual casino games. Despite Twitch's new policy, these streams were attracting a large audience, with around 20,000 concurrent viewers at the time of Trainwreck's broadcast.
Trainwreck expressed his disbelief that he was targeted while these other streams were allowed to continue, and claimed that he was the only one who was gambling in a responsible and transparent manner. According to Trainwreck, he always warned his viewers about the inherent risks of gambling and emphasized the reality that they were likely to lose more often than they would win.
This demonstrates that despite Twitch's strict ban policies, both Slots and Virtual Casino streaming categories persist and are likely to persist for some time. This may be due to the platform's delayed response to the issue, which has allowed a significant community to form and grow in this gray area, and despite wanting to ban these gambling streams, Twitch fears losing a substantial number of viewers. Whatever the case, it will be intriguing to observe how Twitch addresses this dilemma in the future, as prominent Twitch streamers have already started highlighting the platform's inconsistent standards.
Source: Trainwreck - Twitch