1xSlots: Influencer traffic, streamer bans and the impact on brands

In this article, 1xSlots analyses influencer traffic in affiliate marketing.

Opinion.- Influencer traffic in affiliate marketing has long become one of the key acquisition channels for gambling and betting, especially for brands. This happened alongside the rising cost of traditional paid traffic and declining trust in banner advertising. According to igaming analytics, the average ROI of influencer marketing is about US$5.78 for every dollar spent, and for top brands it can reach up to US$20. At the same time, 38 per cent of gambling brands already consider influencers their main marketing strategy. The 1xSlots team regularly analyses Influencer traffic.

The main reason for the popularity of streamers is trust and engagement. A stream is not a banner or a landing page — it is a “live experience” where viewers see wins and losses in real time, which significantly increases conversion rates. Until 2022, Twitch was essentially a goldmine for casino offers: streamers showed slots and roulette, distributed promo codes, and audiences easily followed referral links.

But this is where the market’s key problem begins — mass streamer bans and stricter platform policies.

The first major factor is the toxicity and gray nature of the niche itself. StreamsCharts analytics showed that 76 per cent of gambling channels on Twitch had signs of viewbotting. Moreover, 92 per cent of new channels in this category showed signs of bot activity, and almost half of streams lasted less than two hours — a typical pattern of “create channel → stream → get banned → create a new one.” This heavily affects how platforms and regulators perceive the entire vertical.

The second reason for bans is regulatory pressure. In 2024, influencers promoting gambling were fined and even arrested in several countries: Turkey, Brazil, France, Indonesia, and other markets began actively prosecuting such integrations. Overall, about 74 per cent of gambling operators use affiliate marketing, and influencer spending is estimated at around US$1.8bn per year. This is huge money, and governments want to control this flow.

The third reason is platform policy. In 2022, Twitch banned links and referral codes to unlicensed casinos. This decision effectively collapsed an entire user acquisition channel. The industry lost its main source of young traffic and had to urgently adapt.

The consequences of the bans were immediate. Streamers massively moved to alternative platforms such as Kick, YouTube, and Telegram. Influencer traffic did not disappear — it simply spread across many smaller sources. This is an important trend: the market has become fragmented, and relying on a single platform is no longer possible.

Let’s talk about the advantages of influencer traffic in affiliate marketing. First, audience trust is higher than with any advertising format. Second, there is a strong community effect: viewers discuss bonuses, share experiences, and create additional organic reach. Third, engagement is extremely high — streams keep viewers for hours rather than seconds. Finally, this is one of the few channels that still allows work with Tier-1 audiences through gray schemes.

However, the downsides are just as significant. The main one is instability. A streamer’s account can disappear in a single day, taking the entire lead flow with it. The second problem is dependence on personality. If a streamer gets into a scandal or loses audience trust, conversion drops instantly. Studies show that toxic or controversial content increases engagement but reduces monetization. The third problem is legal risks and platform pressure.

Today, running traffic through streamers is no longer just about choosing a blogger. It is full-scale risk management. You need platform diversification, backup accounts, white legends, proxy branding, and soft integrations without direct links. Direct referral codes are increasingly replaced with funnels through Telegram, Discord, or email communities. This is the market’s response to bans.

An interesting side effect of bans is the rise of “disposable streamers.” As rules become stricter, more short-lived channels appear that never planned long-term operations. They quickly gather an audience, move it into private communities, and disappear. This changes the economics of influencer traffic: instead of long-term branding, there are fast raids and aggressive funnels.

For brands, the main conclusion is to strengthen compliance, work through micro-influencers and create their own communities. After the Twitch bans, the market became less stable, but more mature and distributed. That’s why influencer traffic hasn’t disappeared – it’s just become more complicated, more expensive, and much smarter.