Captive audience: Are casino Twitch streams an RG ticking timebomb?

On 9 June, Twitch streamer Adin Ross inadvertently lifted the lid on the financial behemoth that has become gambling streaming. The Floridian, who boasts more than 4.6 million followers on Twitch, opened chat platform Discord to contact NBA legend LeBron James’ son, Bronny, but not without revealing the text conservation he had conducted with crypto casino Duelbits first. The chat, which appeared on the stream just briefly, detailed Ross’ dismay that Duelbits ‘only’ offered $1.4m and no expenses to stream the casino’s content, while fellow crypto casino operator Roobet would cover expenses and pay the streamer referral code monies. “We r getting more. Sorry bro. Maybe we can work again someday,” Ross’ message read followed by a sad-face emoji. And with that, the ever-growing world of online casino streaming was laid bare via text chat and emojis.

Fertile soil

Former iGaming Group affiliate manager and now independent streamer Maxime Sarniguet tells EGR how the pieces have fallen into place in recent years to allow gambling streaming on Twitch to grow so rapidly. “The ground was fertile for the rise of casino streaming. We are in an era where the only success allowed by society is material goods. Many streamers tell [audiences] how they became rich thanks to the casino,” he says. Sarniguet argues that overlapping demographics between streamers and viewers, as well as a shortening in the link between fans and their heroes, which allows far more interaction than yesteryear, has helped bolster the vertical. Jumping in the DeLorean back to the early 2000s and beyond, fans would connect with their role models through newspaper columns or weekly television broadcasts. Now, streamers, the sports stars of Gen Z, can document their every waking moment and invite fans to view, comment and donate their eyes, words and dollars, creating a new symbiotic relationship in the computer age. Sarniguet continues: “The typical online casino player is a man between 18 and 35 years old, often middle to low class. The Twitch audience is male, relatively young and middle to low class. The two naturally meet. These rich people are there in front of the viewer, accessible and no longer locked up in their ivory towers.” However, Twitch gambling streams do not exist in a void. Streamers like Ross need a casino, often crypto-first, or a supplier which is looking to market itself to their audiences. While many crypto-first casinos operate under soft-touch licensing regimes (both Duelbits and Roobet hold Curaçao licences) and without gold-standard AML or KYC checks, reputable industry powerhouses such as Scientific Games view Twitch as a highly lucrative marketing vehicle. “Streams are very effective in bridging the gap between slot studios and players, providing us with a direct marketing approach to engage with our key audience,” says Matthew Ramsden, SG Digital gaming marketing manager. “We want to be part of that discussion to get as much exposure as possible for our games, which is why we work closely with streamers to provide them with engaging content they need for their live sessions.” Twitch streamers are acting as the new affiliate in the gambling industry, with a direct line not only to gambling-verse customers, but also a virgin audience who will follow their favourite streamers’ every step.

Who’s got the money?

Top-tier streamers can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a month and will regularly partner with brands through sponsorship agreements to bolster their pay packet. For Ross, who flies to Mexico to take part in his gambling ventures as he is only 20 years old and, more importantly, igaming is illegal in much of the US, the opportunity to secure additional revenue was too good to turn down. Discussing his sponsorship arrangement with his casino partners, Ross recently told YouTube stalwart Ethan Klein: “I’m 20, bro. I’m so new to this, I’ve never seen so much money in my life.” There is the argument that Ross, who is not even of legal age to gamble in his home nation, being entrusted as a key acquisition pillar for crypto casinos amounts to a highly irresponsible and dangerous situation. The waters become muddier when viewers aren’t totally informed of whose money is at risk: is it the streamer’s or the house’s? For Ramsden, it is of paramount importance to only partner with streamers who use real money as part of a strategy to be wholly transparent and open with audiences. He argues: “We only work with real-money streamers. Those who use fake money, often staking vast amounts in very short spaces of time, are not responsible and are tarnishing the industry’s reputation. The majority of real-money streamers do promote responsible gambling, something that we completely advocate, but we’re careful to ensure we partner only with those that share the same values as we do.” Playing with these “fake” high stakes can create false reality for viewers, where instead of understanding house funds or fake money is being used to play with, they are drawn into the vast prize pots and returns being pocketed. This, in turn, creates an idea of gambling being used as a main source of income, something charities, operators and regulators have fought repeatedly in their battle against gambling-related harm. Sarniguet takes a far less absolute line to Ramsden, but still argues for the need for transparency to avoid the murkiness of uncertainty and to direct viewers away from the notion gambling can provide a source of liveable income. “I don’t care if the streamers really play [with] their money or not. But let them post how much they played, under what conditions and how much they had left at the end. The goal is to demystify the casino as a miraculous source of money. The casino is a very expensive hobby, not a way to make a living,” he implores. Ross has since declared the funds with which he gambles are house funds from the likes of Duelbits and Roobet, but for the uninitiated, watching their favourite streamer act nonchalantly at thousands of dollars’ worth of losses per session, goes some way to reinforcing a faux sense of safety around online gambling. This normalisation, coupled with Twitch’s young user demographic, points to an uneasy equation for Gamban founder Matt Zarb-Cousin. He notes: “Children are more vulnerable to gambling addiction, and its normalisation in childhood means young people are more likely to gamble online as soon as they turn 18. Those aged 18-24 years old are most likely to develop a gambling disorder.”

I choose you

For marketing teams and streamers looking to promote products to eager audiences, the question of responsible gambling hangs over them. There are multiple factors for both marketers and streamers to consider when partnering for a Twitch project, from reliability and credibility of an operator to the history of a streamer’s content. Erica Anderson, marketing director for Paysafe’s affiliate branch, Income Access, argues there is a significant amount of responsibility on streamers’ shoulders when choosing which operators or suppliers to partner with, with due diligence preferred over snatching the first cheque that appears before their eyes. She tells EGR Intel: “It’s essential that Twitch streamers carry out research to vet whether a gaming site is reputable and complies with all necessary regulation and is fully committed to industry-recognised gambling awareness and responsibility programmes. Ultimately, a Twitch streamer is recommending the gaming brand to their fan base, putting them in a position of significant responsibility if the site is not regulated.” For streamers like Ross, who is by no means the only major Twitch personality to partake in online casino streaming, the need to understand how operators, especially those which operate without solid regulatory oversight, is evident. Without significant research, they are not only putting their own reputations at risk, but the financial and mental safety of their fans at risk, too. From the supplier perspective, Ramsden doubles down on the importance of only partnering with responsible streamers and the necessity of gambling with real money. He adds: “The last thing we want to see is a streamer spinning at stakes of £100. That’s not responsible, nor is it enjoyable to see someone spending such large sums of money. It has to be about the entertainment to ensure these kinds of streams have a sustainable future in our industry.”

Where to now?

With Twitch now placed firmly in the igaming ecosystem, and its prominence as a marketing tool seemingly set to expand exponentially, where does it leave the industry from a strategic perspective? In what had seemed like plain sailing, with marketers jumping at the chance to ride the wave, Twitch dealt a crushing blow. In a creator update shared by the streaming platform, the company announced it would prohibit links and referrals codes to gambling websites being used on the platform. While this does not mean the end of Twitch gambling streaming and marketing forever, it does deal a hammer blow to the nascent industry. However, industry executives remain positive, and for Ramsden, who uses Twitch to showcase SG Digital content as opposed to onboard new customers, the future remains bright. Ramsden notes streaming marketing is certain to be a key arrow in the quiver for the supplier moving forward, with an emphasis on the engagement between the streamer and the fans being one of the most sought-after aspects of the strategy. He says: “We’re keen to ensure that everything is done to make this marketing channel as responsible as possible moving forward. Streaming has added another dimension to the overall online experience for players and made it more fun. They enjoy interacting with fellow players and the streamers themselves, and sometimes these sessions are more about the banter than the actual games.” This key relationship between streamers and fans is of the utmost importance for marketers to tap into. Streamers are aware of the size and commitment of their audiences and, through the power of parasocial interaction, have swathes of potential customers at their fingertips for operators and suppliers to tap into. Anderson notes: “Viewers on Twitch have an emotional attachment and trust the streamers they watch and the brands they promote.” As operators and marketers appear to be fully onboard with the Twitch journey, there remains questions regarding the platform’s role in allowing potentially harmful gambling streaming content to be beamed into the bedrooms of young people across the globe, regardless of the banning of affiliate links. And with Twitch being the ultimate global platform, holistic regulation and external monitoring of the content proves more difficult than previous efforts to clamp down on rogue practices. Sarniguet tells EGR Intel of his exasperation at a lack of engagement from Twitch on the subject of responsible streaming, and details his strategy on how the platform can better approach online casino streaming. He notes: “They should not eliminate slots from the platform. Because people would migrate to other places. Maybe a worse place. With the visibility and strength Twitch has, they should instead try to educate, take action.” Sarniguet argues for ID verification for users to access adult content, similarly to YouTube requirements for violent or sexual content. He also asks for streamers to be more transparent with their gambling record, denoting how much has been won and lost and with what funds they gambled. Finally, he suggests Twitch could place stake or time limits on gambling streaming, to show viewers hitting major stakes like their high-rolling heroes is not a safe way to engage with the vertical. Elsewhere, external regulation has already popped its head above the parapet to take aim, with the Slovakian regulator having informed internet service providers in the country to block Twitch after one streamer was found to have been promoting online gambling by streaming himself playing online poker. For Zarb-Cousin, who distances himself from Sarniguet in wholly blaming Twitch for potentially problematic content, following Slovakian footsteps is key. He says: “Twitch is partly at fault for promoting this content, but until these platforms are properly regulated through the imminent Online Safety legislation, the responsibility lies with gambling operators to not enter into commercial relationships with streamers whose audiences are primarily children and young people.” As gambling advertising controls come crashing down across the world, with the iron curtain blocking out everything from the YouTube headmast to betting logos disappearing from football shirts, Twitch could well follow. For streamers, new verticals and brands may well present themselves, although surely in far less lucrative terms, while many of their apostles will continue to follow even in the absence of casino streaming. Instead, it leaves igaming operators and suppliers, from crypto minnows through to industry giants, in limbo. Twitch provides a new and exciting way to engage with potential customers, with interactivity proving key. If this was to tumble, the long slog back to the marketing drawing board will inevitably begin.