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Twitch bans crypto-casinos, but all other forms are still allowed
Crypto-casino streaming has been banned by Twitch, but the platform still enables vast amounts of fiat currency gambling. The industry however should take care with promoting such high levels of gambling to young audiences, says Pavlos Sideris, director of Double Up Media.
The decision by the streaming giant Twitch to ban gambling websites whose content includes “slots, roulette, or dice games that aren’t licensed either in the US or other jurisdictions that provide sufficient consumer protection” has been described as a clampdown on gambling-related streaming.
It is true that the Amazon-owned group has, at a purely technical level, placed a ban on unlicensed gambling sites that stream players playing their online gambling products, but in reality it only refers to crypto-backed casinos, which make up so much of the casino content that is streamed.
Twitch however hasn’t banned ‘traditional’ online casino, sports betting or poker operators and affiliates that are regulated in the US (or other major markets).
This is no coincidence. It may be stating the obvious, but the reason Twitch decided to ban cryptocurrency-backed casino play from being streamed is because it is not regulated in the US and as a US company it doesn’t want to attract any more controversy than it already has when it comes to this issue.
The fact that crypto-casino is also not regulated in the UK and other European markets also played a part, but the audience levels generated by casino streamers in the US are that much more significant, while many of the biggest (regulated) casino channels have marketing agreements with major US brands and are highly active on the platform.
Streaming exposure
The lack of crypto regulation did not stop the large crypto brands such as Stake.com, Duelbits or Roobet from streaming online casino play and subsidising streamers with major sponsorship contracts to ensure they continue to broadcast to their thousands of followers.
This has given them significant exposure and, one imagines, enabled them to recruit huge amounts of players. These customers will have watched the rap superstar Drake win $12m on a single roulette spin on Stake.com, having lost more than $800k betting on sports a few hours before, and will have been enticed to open accounts with those operators.
In 2021 and as a nod to wanting to protect its audiences from too much gambling exposure, Twitch outlawed referral codes and affiliate links. The measure however will not have prevented thousands of consumers from easily finding the sites online; while the decision by some of the sites to not accept players from the US is easily circumvented by VPNs.
In fact, looking at its decision to ban crypto-casino streaming, one may wonder what has taken Twitch so long to adopt the measure. After all, crypto-backed casinos and sportsbooks have always been unregulated in the US, UK and other major markets.
Of course, the reason Twitch did not ban them earlier is commercial. The streams by celebrities like Drake and sponsored players such as Mizkif, Trainwrecks or Niknam attracted huge audiences and that would have been the only metric Twitch paid attention to.
Reputational concern
Conversely, the most likely factor to influence Twitch into banning crypto casino sites will have been reputational. Cheating scandals or streamers fleecing players out of significant amounts of money to fund their gambling activities have created huge controversies and shone a most unflattering light on Twitch’s ready acceptance of crypto casino play.
The site is owned by the e-commerce giant Amazon, which likely decided that the safest way to avoid further scandals is to ban crypto casinos outright.
The other obvious point to make is that Twitch on the whole appeals to much younger demographics than those that might play on ‘regular’ slot sites. The company’s advertising and media information says “nearly 75% of Twitch viewers are between the ages of 16 and 34”.
The idea that thousands of young Twitch watchers might have been led into opening accounts on sites that were (and still are) unregulated and where they may have spent huge amounts of money while potentially developing gambling problems would be enough to give any public affairs or compliance executive significant worries.
No gambling ban
In an echo of the point made at the start of this article, campaigners and industry observers have been quick to point out that the new measure by Twitch “isn’t an outright ban on gambling” but just “a blow to crypto casinos”.
Indeed, what some campaigners want is a complete ban on the streaming of online slots and other casino games on Twitch, because, they say, “it is objectively harmful to the website and its users” and Twitch’s ban on unregulated operators still means that “luck-based gambling will still be alive and well on the website on October 18th” when the ban on crypto casinos comes in.
A ban is unlikely to happen in the near or medium term at least and a quick scan of the ‘Slots’ homepage on Twitch shows that the crypto casino channels have now been replaced by more ‘traditional’ ones.
In addition, with competing streaming platforms such as DLive more than willing to accept crypto (or other) casino streamers, it seems unlikely that Twitch will broaden its ban to ‘traditional’ casino channels.
Mass availability
Twitch’s rise as a showcase for online slots and other casino games has been steady and long trailed over the past few years.
What the platform also shows is that live casino continues to evolve. From its original and current incarnation as a product aimed mainly at VIPs and ‘whales’ on regular casino websites, to one that, thanks to Twitch, is becoming more focused on online slots and has been made available to a much broader and younger section of the population.
Without wanting to be too alarmist, the fact that younger demographics are exposed to gambling products much earlier than might have been the case in the past should be a cause for concern for all of us as stakeholders.
There have already been a number of addiction or problem gambling stories of young players who became familiar with gambling through Twitch. Criticising the industry for not intervening earlier will be of no use if all gambling streaming eventually gets banned on Twitch.
ReferOn, a state-of-the-art affiliate management system developed exclusively for casino and sports betting operators in the iGaming industry, announces the opening of a limited registration (closing 10th of May) for a free seminar. The seminar will cover valuable affiliate management tips directed at operators.
ReferOn brings several useful innovations to managing affiliate marketing in the form of a comprehensive set of tools and services – dynamic reporting, company grouping, a strong media module, easy flows for rewards, sub-affiliation, an IDC calculator, and many more. In its first year of operation, ReferOn has been recognized with industry nominations and awards including 5Star iGaming Media Awards, iGB Affiliate, SBC Casino Beats, and AffPapa Awards. Most recently, it has been shortlisted as an “Affiliate Software Provider” and “Rising Star Software” at the EGR B2B Awards.
The Referon Insights Seminar will be led by David Harris, B2B Affiliate Team Manager of ReferOn with 7+ years of experience in the iGaming market together with Alexia Gauci, B2B Sales Manager at ReferOn as a moderator. This event will help operators, both existing partners and those who are interested in the product, learn valuable information on what ReferOn can deliver to the user with the following agenda;
- Data Discovery: Dashboard, Statistics, Reporting and APIs
- Tracking Methodology: Creating a campaign, Creating a media item, Setting deals individually or in bulk, and Bulk actions
- Management Tips: Company adjustments, Master affiliate adjustments, Manager reassignments, Password setting and 2FA, Payment method checks, and Support reminders.
The duration of the first seminar will be approximately 45 minutes, followed by a Q&A session. Following the seminar, a set of useful instructions will be published and sent to the participants of the event.
David Harris shared details about the upcoming seminar, “Our goal is to give operators useful hints and tools they need to optimize their processes and scale their affiliate marketing efforts into new markets and regions. We look forward to sharing our knowledge and experience with the community.”
ReferOn’s team invites all interested operators to join us for this seminar. The number of seminar participants is limited and there is no fee to participate in the session.
Mark in your calendar: 15 May 2024, 2 PM (GMT+2).
Ukrainian esports team L&G won the Dragon EC Cup tournament, held on the 20th of April by Dragon Esports Club. Four teams competed in the tournament’s final: Lazer Cats, L&G, which received a direct invitation to the final stage, EsportsBattle, and ThunderFlash, which had open qualifiers. During the Grand Final, the L&G team competed with Lazer Cats on Mirage, Anubis, and Vertigo maps.
“This victory is a testament to the exceptional talent and commitment of our players, as well as the collective effort of our coaching staff and support personnel,” said Alona Shevtsova, founder of L&G Esports. “We are immensely proud of their accomplishments and grateful for the unwavering support of our fans.”
L&G is among the top 5 Ukrainian teams in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. It was founded in 2021. The previous name was Leogaming, and it was created on the initiative of the famous Alona Shevtsova from the fintech sector.
The team began competing in top tournaments and almost immediately made it to the Advanced division of the ESEA League Europe competition. The team also participated in and took prizes in European tournaments such as the SCL League, WhiteBit Crypto Open, Phoenix League, and local competitions. The team players are marat2k, r0ublE, kr1vda, kL1o, OneUn1que, rji (coach).
The winners received a 50,000 UAH prize. Dragon Esports Club also prepared a 15-skin giveaway for the broadcast’s viewers.
It is worth mentioning that the L&G team created its merch items, which are available for order worldwide. To get more information about the team, visit the L&G Instagram page, Twitch, or Telegram Channel.
WA.Technology, an award-winning B2B iGaming solutions provider, announces the launch of WA.Affiliates, a next-gen iGaming affiliate management platform. WA.Affiliates empowers operators to manage and optimise their affiliate programs for enhanced profitability, broader market reach, and streamlined, successful operations.
WA.Affiliates combines an intuitive user interface with a clean, functional design, facilitating simple affiliate performance management. The platform solution is built on real-time optimisation and informed analytics so operators can expand their reach, increase traffic, and boost revenue with maximum efficiency.
Key features include personalised and customisable agreements for each affiliate, integrated user tracking for intelligent insights, and an optimised iGaming-oriented back-office. WA.Affiliates’ support includes zero setup fees alongside free panel transitions and integrated wallets for transaction security and straightforward migration.
Operators can reap the benefits of effortless management thanks to WA.Affiliates’ user-friendly dashboard configuration. Around-the-clock support offers real-time assistance and uncomplicated navigation, giving operators the upper hand in the global marketplace. Hourly insights, detailed reports, and in-depth analysis perfect data-driven decisions for improved acquisition and retention strategies. WA.Affiliates also motivates affiliates via its engaging gamification system, and intelligent user-tracking provides accurate information on campaign performance.
Tim Scoffham, CEO of WA.Technology, shared his enthusiasm for the launch, saying, “With WA.Affiliates, we’re forging a new path in the iGaming industry, creating a platform that not only meets but anticipates the needs of our partners. Our focus on innovation and customised solutions makes WA.Affiliates a key player in driving growth and profitability. We’re simplifying affiliate management to deliver tangible results, demonstrating our commitment to leading the way in digital excellence. At WA.Technology, we’re not just following the path to excellence – we’re creating it.”
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