Twitch announces ban on unlicensed gambling livestreams after backlash

Twitch said it is planning to ban the streaming of certain crypto gambling websites in an effort to protect users from potential harm.

The livestreaming platform, owned by Amazon.com Inc., announced the update to its gambling policies in a statement posted on Twitter Tuesday. The ban will prohibit streaming of sites including slots, roulette and dice websites that aren’t licensed in the U.S. or “other jurisdictions that provide sufficient consumer protection”. It said the ban takes effect Oct. 18.

The policy change comes after some of the platform’s top streamers threatened to stop using the platform if Twitch didn’t change its policy on gambling streams.

Twitch did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Gambling across the platform has long been controversial, with the company facing backlash from streamers and users for not reigning in popular gambling categories that could have harmful effects, particularly on young users.

Twitch said the ban applies to sites including Stake.com, Rollbit.com and Duelbits.com and that it “may identify others as we move forward.” The company added it would not ban sports betting, fantasy sports such as fantasy football or poker.

“Gambling content on Twitch has been a big topic of discussion in the community, and something we’ve been actively reviewing since our last policy update in this area,” the statement read. “While we prohibit sharing links or referral codes to all sites that include slots, roulette or dice games, we’ve seen some people circumvent those rules and expose our community to potential harm.”

Twitch’s current community guidelines already prohibit streamers from referring viewers to sites that include slots, roulette or dice games or sharing affiliate links or referral codes to such sites.