Amazon’s livestreaming site Twitch is considering stricter rules for gambling options on its platform, amid an increased interest and activity related to that category.
The company told Bloomberg that it is “currently in the midst of a deep-dive look into gambling behavior on Twitch.”
In April last year, Twitch announced new measures to ban gambling-related links and referral codes. The news came from a Creator Update, in which the platform announced restrictions in order to “prevent harm and scams created by questionable gambling services that sponsor content on Twitch.”
“We take any potential harm to our community extremely seriously,” the spokesperson told that news agency. “While gambling content represents a very small fraction of the content streamed on Twitch, we monitor it closely to ensure our approach mitigates potential harm to our global community.” Resources for anyone suffering from a gambling addiction are available in Twitch’s Safety Center, the company says.
“Slots” is in the top ten of most popular content category on Twitch. Many streamers are paid handsomely to take part in the activity.
The Bloomberg report further highlights the advertising that some content producers, such as the streamers Felix “xQc” Lengyel or the American rapper Drake, carried out for the crypto gambling operator Stake. This firm says it operates under a gaming license in Curacao, and is one of the top companies with sponsorship deals with streamers in the Twitch community.
While crypto gambling is illegal in the US, it is permitted in other countries. A Stake spokesperson told Bloomberg it has implemented “stringent compliance processes” that prevent people using VPNs from depositing funds in countries where it is not allowed. Stake adds that it “uses a number of measures to address at-risk gambling behavior,” including free gambling-blocking software for its users.
