Amazon’s Twitch announces it will ban cryptocurrency Gambling content. This will come into effect next month, on October 18th.
Live slot, roulette and dice games are not permitted on sites such as Stake.com, Rollbit.com and Duelbit.com.
The ban comes after a backlash against the controversial multi-million dollar sponsorship deal enjoyed by many prominent Twitch personalities.
These live gambling sites such as Stake.com, Rollbit and Duelbit.com are not licensed in the United States or other jurisdictions responsible for providing consumer protection.
The most popular of these sites, Stake.com, is licensed in Curacao.
According to the tweet, Twitch mentioned that gambling content has been “a big topic of discussion” within the community, further adding,
While we prohibit sharing links or referral codes to all sites containing slot machines, roulette or dice games, we have seen some circumvent these rules and expose our communities to potential harm.
Websites not registered in the US will be banned
It was mentioned that websites that are not licensed in the US or other jurisdictions that offer adequate consumer protections should be banned from moving forward.
Other sites will also be identified in the future. However, platforms that focus on sports betting, fantasy football and poker will not be banned.
The streamer also said that they received more than $1 million in sponsorships from sites like Stake.com in a month.
According to TwitchTracker, watching streaming gambling has become very popular, even more popular than watching gamers play Fortnite on Twitch.
At any given point in time, at least 50,000 people are watching Twitch celebrities play slots, blackjack, and other games of chance, as well as gamble with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Twitch streamers and fans alike have mentioned their stance against live gambling.
Concerns about increased crypto gambling have risen
The growing prominence of encrypted gambling content raises some immediate and significant concerns. It has even caused some users to lose considerable money and has also led to addiction.
Prominent Twitch users have even threatened to boycott the site until the crypto gambling problem is resolved.
In early September, a streamer admitted that he defrauded fans and other Twitch creators of nearly $200,000 to cover his addiction to bets on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
Although this has nothing to do with cryptocurrencies, crime related to cryptocurrency betting is also on the rise.
Not only famous Twitch users, but regular users and fans also expressed disapproval of these gambling streams.
Some fans and users are also addicted and are now hooked on crypto gambling after being inspired by their favorite streamers to engage in crypto gambling.
