Are Swedish Influencers Advertising Unlicensed Casinos on Twitch?
Expertise: Online casinos, Game tester
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According to the investigation, between them, the influencers have an audience of roughly half a million, mainly young men born in the 1990s and 2000s. While broadcasting live streams, 60% of the influencers used direct marketing tactics such as sharing links to casinos in their profiles and broadcasts and offering followers sign-up bonuses.
Influencers Actively Encouraging Gambling
Kulturnyheterna found that the influencers were actively encouraging their fans to gamble and would play alongside their audience, involving them in betting decisions in order to increase engagement.
In 2022, Twitch introduced guidelines that banned promoting gambling content, but it has been struggling to enforce its rules effectively.
The findings of the investigation have been passed to Sweden’s gambling regulator, Spelinspektionen, and Kulturnyheterna emphasized that Twitch is the primary platform on which the promotion of unlicensed casinos is taking place.
Regulator Yet to Respond
So far there has been no comment from Spelinspektionen regarding Kulturnyheterna’s investigation. However, it has recently been taking action against unlicensed gambling operators and recently banned a number of them that had been promoted on Twitch.
Furthermore, there is a chance that it will follow Norway’s lead where the gambling authority has adopted a zero-tolerance approach to the promotion of gambling on social media platforms.
RELATED TOPICS: Regulation
