According to a new report by Barron’s, 120 of the most popular Counter-Strike streamers on Twitch are contravening the platform’s rules on gambling. They are all supposedly sponsored by gambling sites, which is something Twitch no longer allows.
forcing many of its top streamers to make the switch to the Stake-backed Kick
Amazon-owned Twitch has clamped down on gambling over the past few years. It banned unregulated online casino content on October 18, 2022, forcing many of its top streamers to make the switch to the Stake-backed Kick platform. This mass exodus included Trainwreck, Roshtein, and Xposed.
According to Twitch’s current community guidelines, no streamers can have sponsors for skins gambling. If anyone contravenes this rule, Twitch claims it will remove their content and could even suspend their account. However, Barron’s claims that it reported one of the contravening accounts and Twitch did not remove the content or ban the streamer.
Counter Strike gambling sites include CSGORoll, Key-Drop, and Hellcase. Twitch’s Counter-Strike page shows several streams with sponsors for some of these sites. Streamers and YouTubers are supposedly offered nearly $200,000 per month to promote the sites, according to Barron’s.