Trainwreckstv recently shared that he has made $360 million from doing gambling streams on Twitch. The presence of gambling on Twitch has been a controversial topic for quite a while, particularly since extremely popular content creators like Train and xQc began signing sponsorship deals with gambling websites. Their huge audiences meant that an extremely large number of viewers, including minors, were being exposed to gambling.
The problem was exacerbated in September when it was uncovered that Twitch streamer Sliker had scammed viewers and other streamers out of approximately $300,000. The reason given by the content creator for his actions was a gambling addiction, which other streamers like xQc have also admitted to dealing with. This seemed to be the spur that caused Twitch to finally ban some forms of gambling on the platform.
It’s been no secret that the gambling streams on Twitch have been very lucrative for a few content creators, but it was never quite clear how lucrative. While playing a game of Overwatch 2 on a livestream with Pokelawls on October 19, the conversation turned to the gambling meta and Trainwreckstv claimed that he has been paid $360 million in the 16 months since he signed a contract with the gambling website Stake.
People have expressed skepticism at the number, with one commenter on Reddit pointing out that it's doubtful the Twitch streamer has earned more than singer Justin Bieber, who has an estimated net worth of $285 million. Others have wondered whether Train was including funds that have been wagered and lost in that total amount, or money that is locked on the gambling site as credit. This would make the number more believable because gambling losses usually far outweigh wins. Recently, xQc admitted to wagering over half a billion dollars in gambling streams, but at the time, his ratio of wins to losses was 63,057 to 583,405.
If $360 million is actually the amount that Train has pocketed from gambling in the past year and a half, he likely won’t mind that the updated Twitch community guidelines now include a gambling ban that prohibits sharing links or referral codes for any website that has slots, roulette, or dice games. This means that sites like Stake, Rollbit, and Duelbits, which had contracts with many streamers, are no longer allowed on the platform.
Many people were outspoken about their disapproval of gambling being permitted on Twitch and therefore see this change as a positive step. Others, including Trainwreckstv, have called out the hypocrisy of banning casino-style gambling while still allowing streams that feature poker or sports betting. Some content creators have also criticized Twitch for censoring people’s right to even talk about gambling on the platform.
Source: Reddit