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Twitch, the live streaming platform of Amazon, has come under scrutiny in Sweden following a private investigation which uncovered widespread advertising of unlicensed online casinos.
As exposed by Kulturnyheterna, the investigative team of Sveriges Television AB (SVT), a six-week investigation revealed that “eight out of ten Swedish influencers on Twitch had promoted unlicensed casinos to their audiences.”
Swedish media were informed: “For six weeks, Kulturnyheterna has reviewed the broadcasts of the most popular streamers and can demonstrate how online casino advertising is spread through hour-long live broadcasts where streamers promote unlicensed games to their followers.”
Though Twitch prohibits access to under-13s, the investigation revealed that streamers had a “collective reach of around half a million subscribers,” formed of a “primary audience of young males born in the 1990s and 2000s.”
During live streams, 60% of influencers used direct marketing strategies, including providing links in their profiles and broadcasts, and promoting bonus incentives of unlicensed casinos.
As detailed by Kulturnyheterna: “The influencers are seen making direct calls to gamble, playing along with their audience, and involving viewers in decisions on stakes, deepening the engagement in gambling activities.”
In 2022, Twitch changed its ‘community guidelines’ to prohibit streamers from promoting gambling content on its platform. Twitch pledged to “prohibit streaming of gambling sites that include slots, roulette, or dice games that aren’t licensed either in the US or other jurisdictions that provide sufficient consumer protection. These sites will include Stake.com, Rollbit.com, Duelbits.com, and Roobet.com [and potentially others].”
Kulturnyheterna has submitted its findings on advertising infringements to Spelinspektionen, Sweden’s Gambling Inspectorate, in which it believes that “Twitch has become the most common platform to promote unlicensed casinos.”
2023 saw the Riksdag approve amendments to the Gambling Act of 2018, granting Spelinspektionen ‘direct enforcement powers’ to combat unlicensed gambling activities. New powers saw Spelinspektionen granted an ‘enhanced authority’ to issue direct orders for the blocking of financial transactions and internet access related to suspected illicit online gambling operators.
Last week, concluding an enforcement sweep, Spelinspektionen announced that it had banned the network of skin online gambling websites operated by Singapore-based Newera Frozen PTE, Aprodi Ltd of Cyprus, and Curacao-licensed Galaktika NV.
The inspectorate noted that it had become aware of the illegal skin websites of the infringing operators that were being primarily promoted on Twitch and YouTube platforms.
Spelinspektionen is yet to comment on Kulturnyheterna’s investigation but warned that advertising unlicensed gambling is illegal under the Swedish Gambling Act. The inspectorate warned of potential legal actions including business bans or police intervention against media violators.
