Cirsa Sportsbook ‘Sportium’ Launches Twitch Channel

Posted on: October 5, 2022, 06:34h. 

Last updated on: October 5, 2022, 11:40h.

Erik Gibbs Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Gaming Business, Global Gaming.

Trouble on Twitch that’s put gambling in the limelight isn’t keeping Cirsa away. The global gaming operator announced this week that its “Sportium” sportsbook now has a home on the streaming platform.

Sportium sportsbook
Kiosks in a Sportium sportsbook wait for customers. The Spain-based sports betting operator is adding a Twitch channel to provide sports news and info. (Image: Sportium)

Sportium TV will be more than just another sports betting channel. The goal is to provide a mechanism through which sports fans everywhere have easy access to sports news.

The channel will offer varied weekly programming that covers a range of domestic sports in Spain, as well as international competitions. The sports space will be broadcast on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays beginning at 7 PM Spanish time.

Digital News in a Digital Age

Journalist Fran Carrasco will host Sportium TV’s programs. Joining him will be a host of collaborators and sports authorities covering soccer, basketball, tennis, and other games. The channel will also produce live broadcasts of sporting events, where permissible.

Some programming is already available on the channel, with more steadily arriving. Sportium, which just became Manchester City’s official partner in Latin America, said in an announcement about the new channel that the launch proves its “commitment to the digital world.” It also reinforces its dedicated focus on sports and leisure activities.

Cirsa and Sportium had to have been working on the development of the new channel for several months before its launch. When the streaming world blew up over the topic of gambling in streams, the timing couldn’t have been worse.

Amazon-owned Twitch introduced a partial ban on gambling content following backlash by a few streamers and a pool of users. The ban only covered content that promotes sites that don’t hold a license in the US or in “other jurisdictions that provide sufficient consumer protection,” according to the company’s statement.

When the new rules go into effect on October 18, it will also impact Stake.com. The favorite betting platform of music artist Drake holds a license from Curacao. But that isn’t good enough to satisfy Twitch. Cryptocurrency betting sites are no longer welcome, either.

Rollbit, Duelbits, and Roobet will join Stake in being officially kicked off the platform. Twitch said in its statement that it will continue to allow websites that focus on sports betting, fantasy sports, and poker.

Twitch Increases Engagement

Twitch makes it easy for almost anyone to get in front of consumers, provided they have content worth viewing. Statistically, the platform has performed well, with over 7.8 million monthly broadcasters this year.

At any given time, there can be around 2.6 million viewers checking out content. This is more than double the number from 2019, and way in front of the 102K from 2012. It’s a slight dip in the 2.78 million from last year.

Being able to offer content on sports contests, particularly if live feeds are available, can be a great way to attract attention. With Twitch’s almost global reach, more fans can potentially come into contact with their favorite teams.

Surprisingly, this trend hasn’t caught on. DraftKings has a channel, but it only has around 5,500 followers. FanDuel is on Twitch as well, but with just 1,800 followers.

Digital streaming of sports continues to increase in popularity, but only at a slow pace. This is due, in no small part, to latency issues on some online platforms. There is often a delay in the broadcast compared to the live action, which leads to disgruntled sports fans and impossible situations for bettors.

It’s likely that sportsbooks will begin to see more traffic as Amazon tweaks Twitch. The company signed an 11-year broadcasting rights deal with the NFL, which it could potentially parlay into expanded access on the streaming platform. DraftKings hopes so, as it recently became the official sponsor of Thursday Night Football on Amazon’s Prime Video.