Gambling has been a controversial practice in the streaming space. While livestreaming gambling session is done on almost all livestreaming platforms, it’s most prevalent on Kick and Twitch. In 2022, a gambling controversy on Twitch led to policy changes in the platform. Twitch streamer Sliker admitted to scamming his audience, including other creators, to fund his gumbling addiction. Since then, Twitch banned gambling sites that include dice or slot games. Kick, on the other hand, since its launch in 2023, was also met with criticism for allowing gambling streams and being backed by Stake — a popular online gambling company. Twitch and Kick is home to many gambling stream. So much so, the sites have been banned in Turkey.
Turkey bans Twitch and Kick
Journalist Ibrahim Haskoloğlu reported that the Turkey National Lottery Administration has banned Kick due to attracting Turkish youth to gambling. Two days later, Haskoloğlu reported Twitch was also banned.
On the Information and Communication Technologies Authority’s (BTK) official site, it reads “twitch.tv has been blocked by the decision dated 22/02/2024 and numbered 2024/7 of Milli Piyango İdaresi Genel Müdürlüğü.”
Gambling an ongoing issue
Considering how controversial gambling livestreams are, both platforms made some policy changes regarding gambling. Twitch limited the type of gambling streams allowed on the platform, while Kick has disable buttons for gambling streams. Despite these changes, Turkey still decided to ban the platforms.
