Twitch Announces New Rules and Policies for Streamers: Bans Gambling Affiliate Links!

In recent months, there has been a rising number of streamers on Twitch that use their streaming as an opportunity to gamble. Some have even gone so far as to put up donation buttons in order to fund their gambling habit.

This is not what twitch was made for and it can be harmful to those who watch these streams without realizing they are being used for gambling purposes. To stop this from happening, Twitch has recently announced a new set of rules that bans the sharing of all affiliate links or any referral codes.

The new regulation targeting streamers prohibits any sharing or mentioning of links/referral codes to any sites offering real-money games like dice, slots, or roulette.

The Amazon-owned streaming service will no longer allow any affiliate links for gambling sites on their site or broadcasts from streamers.

Affiliate marketing helps people make money online by providing them with links to specific products and services that they can use in their content, so many streamers are upset about this new rule.

Gambling was always an issue on Twitch with some high-profile names like Rosthein (one of the most famous streamers with over 25,000 viewers on his stream at any given time) getting banned while in the middle of a stream.

Restrictions on Gambling-Related Links

Twitch is one of the most popular streaming sites on the internet. With this, it's not surprising that many people have started to use it for gambling as well.

In fact, a lot of streamers are making incredible amounts of money by shilling their links and codes to gambling websites. On Aug 11th, Twitch announced they would be banning any type of link or code related to betting sites or anything else that could lead viewers into gambling on Twitch with restrictions being put in place

Many people see this as a victory for those who are against the exploitation of young children on streaming websites in order to make money by encouraging them to gamble their own money on online casinos or other games of chance

A post from Twitch read: “To prevent harm and scams created by questionable gambling services that sponsor content on Twitch, we will prohibit sharing links and/or referral codes to sites that offer slots, roulette, or dice games. We will continue to monitor gambling-related content and update our approach as needed. To give you time to remove this content from your channel, enforcement will be delayed until Aug. 17.”

Gambling streams have been an ongoing problem on Twitch. From accounts spamming chat to encourage viewers to gamble, and other streamers promoting gambling websites, the situation has grown from bad to worse.

The good news is that Twitch has finally made a move against these sorts of streams by banning affiliate links and any mention of betting or wagering in streams altogether.

Twitch is taking steps to make sure that affiliates and streamers are not using the platform for gambling. Affiliate links will be banned, as well as any clips or Nightbot commands about betting. Pokimane and Asmongold have been vocal against this new change, saying that it could hurt smaller channels in their early stages of growth.

This is a drastic measure that will likely end up impacting most affiliates in some way or another. It’s not clear what kind of punishment may be handed out for those who do not comply with this new rule, but it’s safe to say suspensions are at least a possibility.

Many argue that it is not the end of streamers gambling on Twitch, however, it is the end of sharing advertising and sponsored links and codes. Many have speculated that this is only temporary while they work out how to implement new measures against betting.

Final Thoughts

Although the ban will likely harm many streamers especially in how they monetize, it is likely that it won’t stop them from advertising betting streams.

Also, it does not stop Twitch from reaping profits from gambling streams (subs, bits, and donations).

This is certainly a very controversial topic, and we can only wait and see what the streaming titan has in store. Keep it here for more updates as they develop.