Kick to enforce new rules for gambling streams
The streaming platform is updating its policies on gambling content to restrict what sites can be featured.
US.- The streaming platform Kick is to update its policies on gambling to place restrictions on which gambling sites can be featured in streams. The platform says that from February 1 it will only allow users to steam approved gambling sites as it moves to clamp down on “harmful and exploitative” content.
Gambling is the third biggest category on Kick behind Just Chatting and IRL. The new changes mean that gambling streams will only be allowed to feature gambling sites that carry out identity verification, thus preventing the promotion of gambling sites that can be accessed by minors.
With many of Kick’s most prolific streamers, including the likes of xQc, often spending a good chunk of time gambling in front of younger, impressionable crowds, the change seeks to limit just what type of content can be on display.
Kick has had connections to the gambling industry from the beginning. It was established as a Twitch alternative by Stake.com co-founders Bijan Tehrani and Ed Craven, who brought in Twitch gambling streamer Trainwrecks to aid the development of the platform. It features prominent gambling streamers like Adin Ross and xQc join forces, who have many young followers.
Like Twitch, Kick has faced calls to clean up its act when it comes to exposing young people to gambling content. However, the popular gambling streamer Xposed has suggested that the change is being introduced to benefit Stake.
“All this shows is CONTROL over their website entirely and to make everybody come back to Stake and promote only their product,” he said on X, the former Twitter. “On top of that, [for] any streamer that is streaming other gambling websites viewers are deflated and they are not allowed to be shown on the front page or on the recommended section of Kick, making them more difficult to be discovered, which hurts the streamers who aren’t streaming Stake, backing them into a corner.”
Gambling streamers and influencers under pressure
In 2022, Twitch banned streamers from streaming footage from specified unlicensed gambling sites. More recently, it has begun allowing viewers to block specific categories when browsing streams.
The UK media and communications regulator Ofcom has reported that it has seen an improvement in the accuracy of how Twitch labels mature content, including gambling streams. It had reviewed the streaming platform’s classification guidelines following an update in June of last year.
Streamers using the platform must now use content classification labels to indicate mature themes in their streams. There are six such labels: mature-rated games, sexual themes, drugs, intoxication or excessive tobacco use, violent and graphic depictions, profanity or vulgarity, and gambling. Ofcom’s report found that the new labelling system had made a significant improvement although viewing behaviour and mature content appeared to be mainly unchanged.
Regarding gambling streams, Ofcom observed a sharp jump in the accuracy of labelling within 30 days of the change, although it didn’t state what percentage of accuracy was observed.
