The streaming platform owned by Amazon, Twitch, has recently announced that users that do casino streaming with slots, roulette, and dice games from unlicensed operators will face restrictions. However, the ongoing argument between Twitch and slots stream has been going on for years. In this article, we will see the entire history of Twitch and casino streaming.
How it all started in 2016
Twitch is known for streaming video games, and the streaming sector has exploded in recent years. When this opportunity began, the casino streamers also took it. Some of the most followed casino streamers all started in 2016, and the choice of streaming was slots.
However, what did this mean exactly? Well, many players who look to streams can also see the play style of the streamer. Some of them even give tips and tricks when it comes to gaming. For example, just like the video gaming streamers tell their tale regarding a quest in World of Warcraft, so can another streamer that does casino streaming speak about the martingale strategy.
This means that streaming can help players know facts about their favorite game they are watching.
In addition, streamers created hubs for many slot fans, and it all started as a community in 2016. Rothstein has said that the casino streaming scene on Twitch was a cozy and intimate space for all the video slots fans. He also noted that a couple of casino streamers welcomed him with open arms and encouraged him to pursue his passion.
However, in 2016 Twitch started to create an early crackdown on one form of gambling: CS: GO skin betting. This all began when Valve sent a warning message.
The Beginning of the Peak in 2018
At the end of the year, the interest in casino streaming started to peak. In September 2018, Twitch created a specific category for casino gaming, and it made up to 18 channels which attracted 4.500 views per day. In December 2018, Twitch also began a separate category for slots, attracting more than 10.000 viewers per day. Combined, during that month, there were 5 million hours of viewership.
Gaining Momentum in 2019
Casino streaming started to gain momentum in 2019, with monthly viewership getting double during the year. Mainstream iGaming companies began to introduce an in-client integration that allowed players to connect their Twitch accounts.
Besides, casino channels continued to top the list of fastest-growing channels on the platform. Some gained more than half a million new followers in 30 days.
How Was 2020 Going
In 2020 casino streaming had taken off more rapidly than ever because many other forms of entertainment were unavailable. Both streaming and the online casino sector experienced significant growth. Besides, in July 2020, a survey was launched, and 4.1% of respondents said that they had watched a live stream of someone playing casino games online in the past 12 months.
At that time, there wasn’t much controversy regarding signs of a gambling crackdown. In addition, at the end of the year, Twitch introduced Twitch predictions, a free-to-play feature where users could bet points on the outcomes of games that were streamed. This introduction created a certain sympathy for the casino sector.
At The Beginning of 2021
In 2021 both the streaming community and the online casino began to take notice of the opportunities that casino games present. Some affiliate websites took advantage of a new acquisition channel and announced plans to build a new streaming community. The new platform offered an “all-in-one service” to any streamer who wanted to grow their channel.
The same year, popular video game streamers agreed on sponsorship deals with cryptocurrency casinos.
In June 2021, the controversy around casino streaming started to take off. Popular casino streamers announced that they would stop gambling streams.
In August 2021, Twitch restricted links and referral codes that belonged to questionable services.
Gaming operators were quick to take advantage to launch new streaming platforms with age-gating and player protection. These platforms knew that casino players like watching streams, so casino streaming platforms were created. In addition, the CEO of Kafe Rocks said that there was a desire from players for gambling and content streaming.
In late 2021, only the legal slot streams are allowed to stream on Twitch. By October 2021, there were 18.3 million hours watched, which was still more than in 2020.
How Is 2022 Going So Far?
By March 2022, the slots viewing hours on Twitch hit 36.3 million. The casino segment on Twitch gained more in May when a popular streamer returned with slots streaming.
In June 2022, casino streaming became one of the top 10 categories on Twitch, which overtook Call of Duty: Warzone, and it landed just one palace behind Dota, which is an eSports phenomenon.
Besides, even the hip-hop superstar Drake joined Twitch and entered the casino streaming space. His second stream gained 112,000 viewers.
Twitch continued to not allow unlicensed sites on its streaming platform to protect the viewers.
In addition, many businesses in the streaming space hope that restricting unlicensed websites on Twitch will create the opportunity for another streaming service that will be better equipped with protection for the players and viewers.
