In an unprecedented move the Slovakian government has decided to ban Twitch after a streamer was accused of promoting illegal gambling. The ban comes following recent negative feedback from Twitch users across the globe claiming that the platform has done very little to prevent streamers from broadcasting illegal content to viewers of all ages.
While some of that illegal content falls under copyright infringement, there’s an increasing number of streamers who also broadcast themselves playing casino games such as online slots and poker which is sometimes against local gambling laws and regulations as is the case in Slovakia.
These gambling categories are proving to be hugely popular with Twitch viewers. For example, according to a recent study carried out by USA-Casino.com on Twitch streaming statistics, there were 6,293 channels streaming 119,038 of video slots in the month of June alone. The streamer whose activity has led to the Slovakian Twitch ban was streaming on one of those very channels.
Slovakian streamer dDanis has built a following of over 35,000 on Twitch and regularly broadcasts himself playing slots online and offering discount codes to followers who sign up with operators or online casinos that he actively promotes. However, during one of his most recent broadcasts he switched to playing online poker.
According to Slovakian website, Zive the switch to online poker is what alerted the authorities and resulted in a court order blocking any activity from dDanis’ Twitch profile appearing online. The Gambling Authority then decided that a complete ban of the platform was the next logical step and since then many of the nation’s top internet service providers have blocked the platform.
Slovakia has some of the strictest laws in Europe regarding the promotion of online poker and while the ban may seem excessive, there’s no indication that it will be repealed or relaxed at any time in the near future.
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Gambling industry journalist with a background in online poker and trading. Covering the regulated U.S Sports industry and the exciting world of online poker.