Casino streamers in the regulatory spotlight after Twitch action

Casino streamers are lucrative revenue generators for gambling operators, but the time has come to ensure they are properly regulated, an industry panel of experts said.

The burden of regulation for streaming content creators

Speaking at iGaming Next’s Valletta ’22 event, affiliate experts Havard Lehn, Lee-Ann Johnstone and Phil Pearson said it was time for the industry to be proactive. They were speaking after Twitch banned firms from unregulated jurisdictions earlier this month.

When it comes to regulation, a pertinent question is upon whom falls the burden to regulate. The current situation, where it is totally possible for a 10-year-old engorged in a Call of Duty stream to slip into a casino one without any safeguards presents a devastating problem. Who should be preventing this.

“It falls on YouTube to regulate YouTube.” Phil Pearson starkly remarked. The IGG White Labels COO did not hesitate to point out the duty content platforms have to regulate their own creators. The issue is not so clear cut, however, as the burden ought to be shared by all of us. If a 10-year-old does happen to stumble upon a casino stream, perhaps one should be asking what the child’s parents were doing to prevent this, followed up by insight on why the child’s device is not regulated by appropriate software.

Casino streamers here to stay

Gaming operators and content platforms need to set a precedent for the creators to follow suit. Of note, Twitch, the Amazon-owned streaming platform has come a long way since its inception in 2011. Streamers on the platform, as well as others such as YouTube, have since become a significant part of the content-creator workforce, striving for the attention of millions alongside influencers on Instagram, TikTok and other platforms.

Analysing the market leaves no room for doubt. Casino streamers are here to stay as a major source of content, entertaining millions of all stripes and ages. The gaming industry can’t ignore the potential they present for growth. They are so impactful that they may have even made the term ‘affiliate’ archaic, as was rather contentiously suggested by Lee-Ann Johnstone, CEO and Founder of Affiliate Insider.

As the iGaming industry continues to evolve through pandemics, scandals and whatever hurdles the world has left to throw at it, education on regulation and responsible gaming need to take centre stage. It’s not merely about idealism, about what others should be doing, but actively getting regulators in on the conversation and discussing the issues. Moving forward, it’s about asking and answering the important questions, presently, ‘what do we want the relationship between gaming, streaming and regulation to look like?’

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