Gambling has been growing in popularity on Twitch, but there have been a number of concerns over it, and the website itself is addressing the issue

When people want to watch a video game broadcast, or perhaps create similar content themselves, Twitch is usually the first port of call. While streaming platforms saw a decline a few months ago, the Amazon-owned service seems to be going from strength to strength. However, there has been one issue, among many others, which has been causing a bit of concern lately. Gambling has becoming more popular on the site, but a spokesperson for the company has said it will be looking into the problem.

According to a recent report from Bloomberg, who is citing a few words from someone from Twitch itself, it looks as though the streaming platform is taking a "deep-dive look" into the concerns over gambling content on the site. The spokesperson did say that while gambling represents just a small fragment of content on the platform, the company has taken measures to make sure links or referral codes to online gambling outlets are disallowed. What other action will take place is not clear, but the spokesperson said the website monitors such activity closely to ensure it doesn't lead to potential harm.

The report contains a number of examples of people who have been affected by gambling on the site, one of whom is Twitch streamer xQc, who's real name is Félix Lengyel. A few months ago, xQc admitted he had a gambling problem, saying that he will find a way to gamble in pretty much any game he plays, but added that he enjoyed it. Things became quite serious not long after, when it turned out that he lost nearly $1 million dollars. However, this was put down to a gambling site error, but it nevertheless highlights how users and streamers can be swept up in the addiction.

There was even a petition which called for Twitch to ban gambling streams, with some criticizing broadcasters for featuring such content on their channels. At the time of writing, the petition on Change.org has reached 2,398 signatures, which is just over a hundred off its intended goal of 2,500. Whether Twitch will implement such changes is not clear at this stage.

Among the gambling concerns, Twitch has been the subject of much controversy in the past. As well as last year's "hate raid" scandal, there's also the numerous instances of banning users without clear reasons. Those aside, the platform is still the most popular place to go to watch and stream gaming content. Twitch may have a lot of controversies following in its wake, but it doesn't seem to have stopped it being the immediate choice for a lot of people.

https://gamerant.com/twitch-address-concerns-gambling-streams/