A friend once said that online casino streamers are like Marmite – you either love or hate them. Surely, this is unfair to Marmite. Like many others, I enjoy spreading this thick, dark yeast extract on my toast each morning. However, I’m in no rush to jump on Twitch.tv or Kick.com to watch an overly zealous casino streamer do his (or her) thing.
As the name suggests, casino streamers are people who live stream themselves playing live casino games, supposedly with real money (but more on that later). Typically, these players are sponsored by certain casinos, so they only play on one platform.
To its credit, in 2022, Twitch.tv banned streaming of specific slots, dice, and roulette games from sites that are not licensed in the US or any other jurisdiction where consumer protections are lacking. This virtually erased casino streamers from its platform.
However, the company behind the leading crypto casino, Stake, soon picked up the baton and launched Kick, which is now home to the vast majority of these players.
Some of the big names in this niche attract thousands of viewers, but there’s a distinct lack of onlookers from the UK, so why are casino streamers frowned upon on these shores?
Bad Practices
Let’s be honest, glamourising bad behaviour and bad habits may have been cool in the 1960s and 1970s, but times have changed. I’ll start with the streamers who continually puff away on camera.
We all know the potential health risks associated with this habit, and as an ‘influencer’ (of sorts), it’s poor form that they need to do this in front of their audiences. To be clear, I’m not criticising them for smoking, it is their choice, but they could step away from the camera for a minute when they want a quick cigarette.
Drinking alcohol is also shameful, and it sends out completely the wrong message. Certainly, thousands of Brits enjoy a pint or a glass of wine, but it’s never wise to drink when gambling because it can affect your decisions, usually for the worse.
Another off-putting bad practice is the amount of money some of these streamers play with. Naturally, this is a catch-22. A streamer isn’t going to attract many viewers if they are only wagering 10p a spin, where’s the excitement in that? However, they’ve taken it to extremes.
I have seen many streams where players wager $1,000 a spin on slots, such as Pragmatic’s big bass games. Yes, it makes for more engaging content because the wins (and losses) are mind-blowing, but it’s not realistic and it shouldn’t be encouraged.
Using Fake Money
Through the years, I have come across many rumours and accusations of streamers using fake money. One particularly high-profile streamer, who I won’t name for legal reasons, was caught red-handed playing slots in demo mode. Having realised his/her error, they quickly changed the screen and switched to real-money mode. I recall a moment of awkward stuttering on the streamer’s part after the mistake.
These days, it’s not so much that streamers are using fake money, but rather, they are bankrolled by the casino. We can split hairs on this, but for me, there is little difference between the two.
Put simply, it is unethical to pretend you are gambling with real money if you are not while hoping and expecting players to register through your affiliate links and for them to do so. This behaviour leaves a bad taste with viewers in the UK.
Special RTPs for Streamers
There are numerous threads on Reddit claiming the top streamers have special deals with providers and casinos so that they get special enhanced RTPs. This creates a false impression that certain slots pay better than they do in reality for regular players.
Of course, casinos benefit because the streamers are associated with specific brands, so the likelihood is that viewers will join the same platform.
Bonus Buys
Several i-gaming slot developers now offer a ‘Bonus Buy’ option. This allows players to cut straight to the action and buy a free spins bonus round or special feature directly. The UKGC soon nipped this in the bud, which is why you’ll never see bonus buys at regulated UK casinos.
Typically, a bonus buy may cost 100x or 200x your spin cost; however, I’ve seen some slots that have bonus buy features costing over 700x.
This style of gameplay is high-risk, but it’s perfect for streamers, as most big wins come in the bonus rounds. It makes their content more exciting, and casinos love to show off players winning six and seven-figure payouts because viewers believe it could also happen to them.
It may sound like fiction, but there are streamers who buy 100x bonuses at a spin cost of $1,000. That’s $100,000 on a single feature. Any normal player would be bankrupt within a few weeks (if not sooner), but these guys are spinning the reels nearly every day. You can make your own decisions, but I can see why casino streamers are not flavour of the month with sensible players from the UK.
