Streamer hit with a fine

Denmark’s gambling regulator is starting to crack down on illegal gambling streaming. On Wednesday, Spillemyndigheden, the Danish Gambling Authority, announced that it reported a Twitch streamer to the police for advertising illegal gambling sites.

The streamer, who went unnamed by the regulator, allegedly promoted unlicensed online gambling sites earlier this year. Spillemyndigheden contacted local police and recommended that the streamer be fined DKK10,000 ($1,453), which was, in fact, the fine that was assessed once police determined that what the streamer did was illegal.

the first time it has reported a streamer for illegal gambling advertising

The Danish Gambling Authority said that this was the first time it has reported a streamer for illegal gambling advertising. In its brief press release, it did not say what sites were promoted or if the streamer was actually gambling, the one might assume the latter.

Twitch banned unregulated gambling

The interesting aspect of this is that it was a gambling regulator that punished a streamer, not Twitch itself. In October 2022, Twitch implemented a ban on streams of unlicensed gambling sites, specifically targeting crypto casinos Stake, Roobet, Duelbits, and Rollbit. Seeing a streamer get hit with a suspension for violating Twitch policy would not be surprising, but a streamer getting reported to police by a national regulator is a bit different.

protect our community, address predatory behavior, and make Twitch safer”

A month ago, Twitch added Gamdom and Blaze to the list of explicitly banned gambling sites, announcing the overall goal is to “protect our community, address predatory behavior, and make Twitch safer.”

Before the October ban, “Slots” had climbed into the top ten most-watched categories on Twitch. It plummeted immediately when the policy was enacted. As of mid-afternoon ET on September 1, 2023, “Slots” ranks 22nd, with almost 31,000 viewers. When the ban took effect, that number was under 4,000.

Another gambling category has cropped up, though. “Casino Jackpot,” ranks 16th with 38,000 viewers. The streams appear to be mostly geared to viewers in Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia and may be using legal gambling sites, as real currencies are used and the Gamcare logo is visible on many of the screens.

Kick has filled the void

With the DKK10,000 fine, the anonymous streamer might end up considering a move to Twitch competitor Kick, but again, the fine had nothing to do with the platform and everything to do with their country’s gambling laws.

Kick was created by Stake, one of the leading crypto casinos

The biggest gambling streamers – names like Trainwreck, Roshtein, and Xposed – have jumped ship and gone over to Kick because Kick has very few rules and is happy for streamers to broadcast unregulated gambling. In fact, Kick was created by Stake, one of the leading crypto casinos, likely as a loss leader for Stake’s primary business.

The lack of guardrails plus a more favorable pay breakdown has also drawn some of Twitch’s most prolific – and most objectionable – streamers over to Kick. People like Adin Ross, who has trafficked in hate speech and has platformed neo-Nazis for the clicks, have found a home at Kick where they can effectively do whatever they want.