Over the course of the past several days, Twitch has been embroiled in apocalyptic levels of platform-wide drama, from chess cheating allegations to $300,000 in widespread scamming. The former, perpetrated by a partnered streamer by the name of ItsSliker, has invoked a mass campaign for Twitch to suspend its continued involvement and promotion of gambling (often referred to as "gamba" by viewers) across livestreams, most prominent among the platform's largest creators, including former Overwatch Pro player xQc and the often-controversial Trainwreckstv.
The woes stem mainly from ItsSlicker's supposed gambling addiction, a problem he himself admitted to living on stream not long after a multitude of scamming allegations were brought forth from various circles, including Reddit community Live Stream Fails (LSF) and Twitter. YouTuber Lukeafk was among the first to broadcast the scheme, admitting to being scammed out of a whopping $27,000, of which incidentally has already been paid back to him by the likes of xQc.
Prominent YouTube livestreamer Ludwig in tandem with xQc has already pledged to pay back all of the victims involved in ItsSliker's schemes, a process that no doubt will be gruellling and somewhat difficult as the amount extends over $384,000 according to YouTube's Coffezilla. A large chunk of that cash, in the ballpark of $100,000, was gifted to ItsSliker by none other than Trainwreckstv, who purportedly gave him the money to wipe his debts and never speak to the creator again.
The entire debacle has sparked a widespread campaign across major social media platforms for Twitch to disband the presence of gambling on its website. From Pokimane to Mizkif (now also embroiled in his own controversy), the #TwitchStopGambling flag has been raised to a seemingly indifferent or potentially even bribed set of staff members.
It does strike me as weird that @Twitch staff are in Trainwreckstv's chat and accepting $50,000 in crypto from him.
— ostonox (@ostonox) September 20, 2022
It must be hard to see clearly when deciding whether to regulate the person that just paid near your entire salary in one bitcoin transaction. #TwitchStopGambling pic.twitter.com/1fv9q30oUC
As shared via motion designer and video editor Ostonox on Twitter, a clip of Trainwreckstv shows the creator paying out $80,000 in crypto to supposed Twitch staff members by the name of "rellim," a supposed Twitch administrator, and "pepegafish," a video platform developer, according to their social bios. The open behavior and relative ease by which Trainswreckstv simply pays these people off amid his stream feel so grotesque and demoralizing when a large portion of his audience is most likely young adults watching on as Twitch employees take what on the outside feels like protection money.
Slots, the dedicated category for live streamed gambling on Twitch, first came into being around 2018, blending a bit with the category once called "casino." Taking a gander on Twitch Tracker shows the meteoric rise of Slots heading into 2021, now averaging a horrifying 50,000-60,000 monthly viewers. It shouldn't be too obvious how dangerous of a concept this is, given that 75% of the audience on Twitch is made up primarily of individuals between ages 16 and 34.
Although ItsSlicker does report having a serious problem, as gambling addiction (and any addiction) is no joke - one that the creator himself defined as being specifically dedicated to sports games, which is legal in the US - it's important to note the fact that he still knowingly conned people out of money with the intention of never paying them back. A platform that so easily promotes gambling only incentivises the potential process of falling into this very same trap, with the average age for an onset gambling disorder beginning as early as 12 in 69% of adolescents.
I think using momentum from an insane gambling scandal to make meaningful change to a platform is just smart
— ludwig (@LudwigAhgren) September 19, 2022
It's important to be human first and make sure the victims are okay
But what is the issue with wanting positive change?
Bloomberg's Cecilia D'Anastasio notes in an article published last month how the popularity of the Slots category has no sooner driven many of these Twitch viewers into the rabbit hole of crypto casinos, wherein a mere $1 can lead to total disrepair. One such audience member by the name of Enneric Chabot, via the Bloomberg piece, relates that "I just started losing and losing."
Stake and other popular forms of online gambling outlets make it infinitely easy for people (young adults included) to kickstart their gambling appetites, even though crypto gambling is illegal in the states. Such creators as xQc, Trainwreckstv, Adin Ross, and plenty more have been gifted exorbitantly high sponsorships to merely sit there and play slot games to an audience of tens of thousands, shilling such activities without breaking much of a sweat.
According to D'Anastasio's article, the platform is seemingly flirting with the idea of limiting gambling streams to an extent and has taken some steps, including banning gambling outlets and referral codes on the site. Still, as witnessed via the likes of Trainwreckstv's recent clip, even staff seem to be in on the debacle, and little if anything will ever actually change long term.
And even as the entire public screams from the rafters for the outright canceling of gambling streams in this capacity, Twitch will only continue to promote and protect its golden geese, creators who, specifically xQc, bring in an average of 74,000 viewers to the platform alone. Even with the ongoing gambling drama making waves across the internet, the number of viewers themselves proves more important to advertisers and the platform itself (with the addition of the large cash signs gleaming in their eyes).
As Ostonox himself said:
"This has become a game to [Trainwreckstv and xQc], where the suffering of others are chess pieces to be used. The streamers are unwilling to stop, the platform is unwilling to act, but its employees are more than willing to accept 'gifts.' @Twitch #TwitchStopGambling."
