Twitch streamers bend the rules

Meet me in the lobby

This week, The Conversation turned its attention towards gambling advertising in Australia, where the government is currently contemplating to what extent it should be limited.

“Currently, a partial ban is on the table,” the piece explains, leading to “severe criticism fro gambling harm researchers” and others.

The partial ban is inconsistent with the recommendations of the Murphy report, the piece points out, “which unanimously recommended the need for a total ban.”

So, with Australians losing around $25bn per year on gambling, and mounting pressure to address the problem of gambling-related harm, why does a partial ban now look like the likeliest outcome down under?

According to the article, this is at least in part down to the power and influence of “Big gambling,” which is following in the footsteps of “Big alcohol” and “Big tobacco” in trying to avoid being too heavily restricted.

“These industries have used the full power of strategic marketing, not just to develop, promote, advertise and endorse their products, but also to influence government,” it says.

Those industries were able to push back on restrictions in their own sectors thanks to their influence on government and society, it argues, a strategy which it says the gambling sector is now following in the footsteps of.

Government lobbying, funding favourable research and extensive media and public relations efforts all contribute to painting these so-called ‘vice’ industries in a more positive light.

At least for tobacco, however, the influence was not strong enough to prevent serious restrictions being imposed on the industry, which were eventually brought in via the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

“If we wish to effectively reduce gambling harm in Australia, similar robust regulations may be necessary” for the sector, the piece suggests.

“Such rules could include limits and declarations on political donations, banning gifts to politicians, tighter rules on lobbying and transparency about meetings with government, whether by the gambling industry or others.”

What will happen to Australia’s gambling sector still remains to be seen, but many will undoubtedly continue to argue against the influence of big business on government policy.

Another day, another scandal

Elsewhere, ESPN brought us a comprehensive run-down of all the US betting scandals that have taken place since the repeal of PASPA in 2018.

The story follows in the wake of yet another scandal, as the University of Notre Dame in Indiana revealed it has suspended its men’s swimming programme for at least the entire 2024-25 academic year, after several investigations showed athletes were betting on their own events.

This, a violation of the NCAA rules which govern college sports, is just the latest in a long line of gambling scandals that have shaken the US sporting world in recent years.

“In the past two years, dozens of professional and collegiate athletes and coaches have been suspended or fired for gambling violations, and at least one bettor has pleaded guilty to obstruction charges related to a college baseball betting scandal,” the piece describes.

From Jontay Porter to Shoei Ohtani, betting stories have dominated headlines repeatedly this year, and this piece aims to set out just exactly how US sports found themselves in this position.

Readers are encouraged to check out this thoroughly written article in full, to see just how many scandals have been revealed in the past few years, and perhaps most worryingly, how their frequency appears to be increasing all the time.

Streamers break the rules

Finally, Dexerto revealed that more than 100 Counter Strike streamers on Twitch are reportedly in violation of the platform’s terms of service by maintaining sponsorship deals with gambling brands.

According to the article, around 120 of the top 300 most-watched Counter Strike streams on Twitch were sponsored by a gambling site.

A few years ago, that might have been just fine, but Twitch recently changed its terms and conditions to include a ban on both streamers gambling live for their audiences, and being sponsored by gambling companies.

The move was one of the major factors contributing to the creation of Stake-backed rival streaming service Kick, the article points out.

“However, many [Twitch] streamers are reportedly disregarding the rule and are still being sponsored by CS gambling sites, putting them at risk of a ban,” it continues.

According to Twtich guidelines, such violations can lead to the removal of content, demonetisation, or suspensions.

But, per another report from Barron’s, streamers and YouTubers have said they received offers of almost $200,000 per month to promote gambling sites through their channels.

With such lucrative deals up for grabs, perhaps it’s no wonder that some streamers are disregarding the terms and conditions and deciding to break the rules.

Ultimately, though, the responsibility for preventing gambling content from being shared on its platform will lie with Twitch itself.

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