Twitch expands its ban on gambling livestreams. It also says viewership of the content is down 75%


Amazon-owned Twitch said that it's expanding the ban on livestreams of gambling content on the platform. — AP

NEW YORK: Amazon-owned Twitch said Aug 2 it’s expanding the ban on livestreams of gambling content on the platform.

The company said it will now prohibit streams of online casinos Blaze and Gamdom, adding to the four sites it banned last October when its new gambling policy went into effect.

Twitch announced the restrictions after a controversy broke out on the platform last year involving a streamer accused of scamming users and other content creators out of thousands of dollars to fuel a gambling addiction. That led some big-name streamers to protest the platform’s lax policies on gambling streams.

As the pressure intensified, Twitch said it would prohibit websites that include slots, roulettes or dice games and aren’t "licensed either in the US or in other jurisdictions that provide sufficient consumer protection.” Blaze and Gamdom are not available in the US, but users can still gain access using virtual private networks that mask 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 Wednesday in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Twitch said it saw gambling viewership drop by roughly 75% after it implemented the new policy last year, but noted it has also "observed some new trends” and is updating its policy to better protect users.

The company also prohibits sharing links or referral codes to sites that include slots, roulette, or dice games to address what it said were scams and "other harms stemming from questionable gambling sites.” It allows websites that focus on sports betting, fantasy sports and poker. – AP

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!
   

Next In Tech News

Apple set to face fine under EU's landmark Digital Markets Act, sources say
Amazon CEO denies full in-office mandate is 'backdoor layoff'
Musk now says it's 'pointless' to build a $25,000 Tesla for human drivers
Google defeats lawsuit over gift card fraud
Russian court fines Apple for not deleting two podcasts, RIA reports
GlobalFoundries forecasts upbeat Q4 results on strong demand from smartphone makers
Emerson sharpens automation focus with offer for rest of AspenTech in $15 billion deal
Palantir shares surge to record as AI boom powers forecast raise
Netflix under tax fraud investigation as offices in France and Netherlands raided
Singapore's Keppel to buy Japanese AI-ready data centre

Others Also Read