A different approach
Left reeling due to a recent ban on popular slot streams, many Twitch gamblers are looking for new forms of content to appease their fans. Roshtein, one of the platform’s most popular slots streamers, is one such influencer. After a brief streaming hiatus, he is now planning to transition to sports betting-related content for the time being.
some very big bets
His Twitter feed has been busy over the past few days, with the streamer detailing some very big bets placed on his account. The wagers relate to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, an event that began on Sunday and will capture the attention of bettors until the soccer tournament ends on December 18.
On Sunday, he took to Twitter to share his $641,000+ payday from a World Cup parlay:
Meanwhile, his most recently posted wager is a parlay with four different selections from World Cup group games, carrying a stake of $100,000. With the odds of the bet at +2240, he stood the chance of a $2.3m return. However, Argentina lost to Saudi Arabia in a shock result that cost Roshtein his bet.
Still utilizing Stake
Roshtein makes his large wagers through Stake. The site’s online casino is one that Twitch no longer allows on its platform. Streamers can, however, still broadcast content focused on sports betting, fantasy sports, and poker. While Roshtein has not held any sports betting-related Twitch streams as of yet, he posted a message to his Facebook page in the early hours of Monday saying that he will be “going live to test the waters in a few days.”
As well as his own bets, Roshtein has launched a World Cup prediction game on his website in advance of the tournament kicking off. The leaderboard will be updated after each game, with the prize pool at $100,000.
Impact of the ban
There were a lot of mixed opinions when Twitch announced its ban on unregulated online casino sites last month. Those on the anti-gambling side of the debate argued that casino streams normalized gambling for at-risk people. Meanwhile, Twitch gambling fans were disappointed to lose their favorite content.
a 97% drop in viewership numbers
Right after the ban came into place on the unregulated gambling site streams, the slots category on Twitch saw a 97% drop in viewership numbers. Despite the ban, Twitch remains the most popular streaming platform for gambling-related content.
Streamers have explored using other platforms like YouTube to show their streams instead. There have even been rumors that highly popular streamer Trainwreck is working on developing and launching his own streaming platform for gambling content.