Twitch: Streaming platform monitors gambling streams

Twitch

Lately in particular, the streaming platform Twitch and some of the streamers active there have not exactly been littering themselves with fame. In addition to numerous bans and ASMR deposits, the popular content on gambling is particularly controversial discussion material. Even some of the in-house streamers spoke out against the gambling streams, not least because the Twitch audience is still often under the age of majority.

So far, there have been no real measures, even though some of the gambling -Streams are proven to be illegal. Twitch is keeping a low profile, but has now revealed that the focus is of course on a positive experience for all users and that the controversial gambling streams are closely monitored.

Some of the gambling websites are illegal in the USA

Two streamers in particular have used the big, juicy gambling cake and caused doubts, critical inquiries and legal reviews: Felix "xQc" Lengyel and Tyler "Trainwrecks" Niknam. The latter in particular has recently been operating on illegal ground. Based in Texas, Trainwrecks streamed slot machines through Stake.com, an online cryptocurrency casino and Trainwreck's largest sponsor on Twitch.

Recommended editorial content At this point you will find external content from [PLATTFORM]. To protect your personal data, external integrations are only displayed if you confirm this by clicking on "Load all external content": Load all external content I consent to external content being displayed to me. This means that personal data is transmitted to third-party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy . External content More on this in our data protection declaration. Unfortunately, the legal situation is anything but rosy: Entering Stake.com is not allowed in the USA. If you try to open the site with a location in the USA, you will get the message "Due to our game license we cannot accept players from the USA." Streamers used VPNs, ie a virtual private network, to bypass this location-based block.

But that does not protect them from their delinquency. Legal experts told WIRED that promoting gambling sites that are not allowed in the US and making money by referring US citizens to these sites are classified as promoting illegal gambling.

Streamers seem to be aware of the illegal activity

It looks like this is nothing new to xQc and Trainwrecks. It wasn't until June that xQc stopped streaming gambling and justified its decision on the grounds that it was too easily addicted. Not everyone accepted this reason and assumed that xQc had stopped its activities because he had become aware of his violation of the law.

Financial and eSports journalist Ollie Ring had also drawn attention to the legal situation on Twitter: "xQc is located in Texas. Texas has a strict ban on online gambling. Texas has one of the strictest gambling laws in the US and it is literally a crime to feed slot machines with real money there. What it does is literally illegal. "

Trainwrecks, who also streamed from Texas, seems to have noticed this too. As a leaked Discord conversation with xQc shows, the main reason for Trainwreck's move to Canada is the more relaxed legal situation there for online gambling.

Read also 0

Twitch: Completely female speed running event starts in August

The all-female speed running event Flame Fatales starts on August 15th on the Games Done Quick Twitch channel. 0

Twitch: Asmongold visibly dissatisfied with a complaint from a viewer

A viewer of the Twitch streamer Asmongold complained about the Just Chatting part of the stream. Asmongold fired back. 0

Twitch: Snoop Dogg is streaming without sound and didn't even know it

Snoop Dogg has once again provided a curious Twitch live stream. For an hour the rapper and the game were inaudible. var lstExcludedArticleTicker = '1376110,1376099,1375988,1375966';

Twitch comments, but is reluctant to take action

Actually, all of this is regulated in Twitch's terms of use. There it says: "YOU DECLARE that you will not violate any laws, contracts, intellectual property or other rights of third parties and you will not commit any unauthorized acts and declare that you are acting at your own risk while using the Twitch services. "

Gambling streams are not specifically mentioned in the terms of use, but this does not change the legal situation. Other streaming platforms such as YouTube or Facebook Gaming have already banned gambling content. Twitch told WIRED: "We strictly prohibit illegal content and activities on our platform and will be in all verified cases of illegal gambling that we take action. Our policies make it clear that streamers must respect all local, national and international laws when using our service. " The company added that the goal is "to ensure a safe and positive experience for all users of our services" and that "gambling content will be closely monitored."

Source: WIRED