As the debate over Twitch and its acceptance of gambling broadcasts continues, the platform has delivered its first blow. Twitch said in a tweet on Tuesday evening that it would prohibit “streaming of gambling sites that feature slots, roulette, or dice games” in a policy change beginning October 18th.
Importantly, Twitch is not prohibiting all gambling or even all broadcasting of the aforementioned gambling formats. There will be an exception for sports betting, fantasy sports, and poker, while streaming slots, roulette, and dice are only illegal if the websites are not “regulated in the United States or other countries that offer adequate consumer protection.”
Stake.com, one of the most popular slot gaming sites aired on Twitch, is among the gambling sites that will be affected by the ban. It’s commonly featured on the feeds of big streamers like xQc and Trainwreckstv.
Twitch gambling has become a major subject as rich broadcasters seem to sell their services, purportedly to children, perhaps fuelling gambling addictions. ItsSliker came out earlier this week, confessing to bilking hundreds of thousands of dollars from other streamers to feed his sports betting habit.
Following that incident, big-name streamers such as DevinNash, Pokimane, and Mizkif, who is now entangled in a different but tangentially connected scandal, urged or supported a possible boycott of Twitch if the network did not prohibit gambling on the platform. That step may no longer be required. However, sports betting, the sort of gambling that sparked this latest debate, would be exempt when the prohibition goes into place.
Twitch indicated in a tweet that it would publish additional information about its gambling regulations before they go into effect on October 18th.
