NEW YORK: Amazon-owned Twitch announced on August 2 that it is expanding its ban on livestreams of gambling content on the platform. The company is now prohibiting streams of online casinos Blaze and Gamdom, in addition to the four sites it banned last October when its new gambling policy went into effect.
Twitch made this announcement following a controversy that arose on the platform last year involving a streamer who was accused of scamming users and other content creators out of thousands of dollars to fuel a gambling addiction. This incident led to prominent streamers protesting against Twitch’s lenient policies on gambling streams.
In response to the mounting pressure, Twitch stated that it will prohibit websites offering slots, roulettes, or dice games that are not licensed in the US or in other jurisdictions that provide sufficient consumer protection. Although Blaze and Gamdom are not available in the US, users can still access them using virtual private networks that hide their locations.
“Our goal now, as it was last fall, is to protect our community, address predatory behavior, and make Twitch safer,” the company said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Twitch reported a decrease of approximately 75% in gambling viewership after implementing the new policy last year. However, the company acknowledged that it has observed some new trends and is updating its policy to better safeguard users.
In addition to banning gambling streams, Twitch also prohibits the sharing of links or referral codes to questionable gambling sites that offer slots, roulette, or dice games, in order to combat scams and other potential harms. The platform does allow streaming of websites focused on sports betting, fantasy sports, and poker. – AP
Credit: The Star : News Feed
