The American live video streaming platform Twitch announced on Wednesday that it will soon ban several gambling sites, a decision that follows the mobilization of influential streamers.
“On October 18, we will update our policies to prohibit streams from gambling sites that include slots, roulette, dice games and are not licensed in the United States or in other countries sufficiently protecting consumers”Twitch said in a statement posted on Twitter.
The platform specifies that the sites Stake.com, Duelbits.com and Rootbet.com will be affected by this ban, but that this list is not necessarily exhaustive. Streams from sports betting sites, fantasy league (sports simulation games) and poker will remain authorized.
Twitch, which is part of the Amazon group, had been facing discontent for several days from well-followed personalities on the platform, including Pokimane, HasanAbi and Mizkif, who were alarmed at the extent of gambling and its effects. harmful to minors for whom they are normally prohibited.
Some of these content creators had even threatened to boycott Twitch over the Christmas period and popularized the hashtag #TwitchStopGambling (“Stop gambling on Twitch”). On Saturday, streamer ItsSliker admitted in a video that he defrauded some of his subscribers and other streamers in order to finance his addiction to gambling.
After these revelations, xQc and ludwig, who each have several million subscribers on Twitch, have agreed to reimburse the victims of this scam, estimated at $300,000.