Published: May 29, 2022

Petition Asks Twitch Advertisers To Push Streamer To Ban Crypto Casino Content

Petition Asks Twitch Advertisers To Push Streamer To Ban Crypto Casino Content

 

Twitch is the subject of a Change.org petition that’s seen 1,296 signatures since Friday. The petition asks Twitch’s advertisers to push the streaming service to ban content creators who talk up crypto casinos.

Crypto casinos are unregulated and aren’t among legal US online casinos.

However, US officials are beginning to crack down on crypto casinos. In April, state securities regulators in Alabama and Texas issued cease-and-desist orders against a company that was selling NFTs in order to operate crypto casinos in the metaverse.

If Twitch “broadcasters,” as the petition terms them, are touting crypto casinos on the streaming platform, they are talking about unregulated entities. The San Francisco-based business allowing such streams makes Twitch “complicit,” alleges the petition.

The petition headlined Twitch Advertisers, please encourage Twitch to ban unregulated online casino livestreams says:

“Your advertisements on Twitch are being played next to Twitch broadcasters who promote unregulated online casinos.”

Twitch representatives didn’t immediately respond to Online Poker Report‘s request for comment today.

Word is spreading about the petition

Erin Jordan posted the petition on Friday on Change.org.

Yesterday, Dexerto.com published an article about the petition. Shortly afterward, a Reddit user posted it in that forum. As of 9 p.m. today, the Reddit post had 685 comments.

Also by today, three more gaming and gambling publications picked up the story – including Germany‘s Buffed.

Meanwhile, the petition’s main claims are that Twitch is allowing content on its platform that promotes crypto casinos and that that content is being viewed by minors. Jordan’s petition includes many more allegations, which OPR won’t list here.

However, it’s true that minors view Twitch content.

As of December, TwitchAdvertising.tv reported this of the streaming service’s 31 million-member daily audience:

“Nearly 75% of Twitch viewers are between the ages of 16 and 34.”

The top comment on Reddit agreed with the petition that “kids are very vulnerable to these kinds of streams.” Dragonborn1212 wrote about seeing a crypto betting site video in seventh grade, then gambling on the site two days in a row.

Twitch petition requires a grain of salt

As with any allegation, it’s important to consider the source. Jordan’s Change.org profile shows a silhouette photo above the words “United States.”

The same photo appears in an Erin Jordan YouTube profile. This was only created yesterday and features no videos save the one which accompanies the Change.org petition.

The video features a computer-generated male voice and urges viewers to visit BanGamba.com. Clicking on that site redirects visitors to the Change.org petition.

Looking up BanGamba.com’s registration via the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) only tells searchers that the registration came from Reykjavik, Iceland.

Thus, we know very little about who Erin Jordan is, or whether that’s a real name or a pseudonym. Regardless of its origin, however, the petition touches on a subject that seems to be relevant for a lot of people.

https://www.onlinepokerreport.com/65393/petition-asks-twitch-to-ban-crypto-casino-content/

© Public Gaming Research Institute. All rights reserved.