Twitch Permanently Bans High-Profile Streamer ‘Sliker’ Over Gambling Scams

Posted on: February 8, 2023, 07:29h. 

Last updated on: February 8, 2023, 04:08h.

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

“Sliker” helped put gambling in a bad light last year when the popular Twitch streamer outed himself for scamming others to feed his habit. Twitch kicked him off the platform temporarily before the channel suddenly came to life last month. But that return was short-lived.

Twitch streamer Sliker participates in an interview
Twitch streamer “Sliker” participates in an interview. He has lost his Twitch channel after admitting to stealing from others to feed his gambling habit. (Image: Game Rant)

It was made public in late September that the content creator defrauded fans and other creators of hundreds of thousands of dollars. He admitted to carrying out his scheme through pleas for financial support and swearing to repay the loans as soon as possible.

On January 26, Sliker’s channel became active again, although he claimed it was due to a hack. The channel is completely gone now, the latest casualty of Twitch’s newfound moral compass.

Other streamers rallied together after Sliker made his announcement last year. However, they didn’t target him – they went after Twitch and its gambling content policies. The admitted gambling scammer served as the catalyst to pit the creators against the streaming giant.

Bringing Down the House

Twitch ultimately had to give in and began cutting down on certain gambling content. It’s putting distance between itself and any gambling content that might not be derived from reputable sources in the regulated gaming ecosystem.

Sliker, who once had more than 432K followers on his ItsSliker Twitch channel, became part of that group because of his gambling. He lost his ability to add new subscribers, and the platform took away his partnership status.

However, he didn’t lose his channel. Instead, he received a slap on the wrist before the channel reappeared last month. Now, when trying to view the channel, users find a “This channel is currently unavailable due to a violation of Twitch’s Community Guidelines or Terms of Service” message.

A thread on Reddit discussed the new ban, with some wondering why Twitch took so long to take action. Perhaps the platform wanted to allow Sliker to return once the fervor died down, or as one Reddit user pointed out, the ban is only a response to the supposed hack.

Twitch Plays Both Sides

Twitch has made millions of dollars off gambling content, which is an important piece of the business that it isn’t eager to give up. It succumbed to peer pressure when it announced the ban last year. But it isn’t willing to let go entirely.

Streamer xQc, whose channel often published gambling streams, became a casualty of the ban. He’s now calling out the platform for maintaining double standards.

Trainwreck, another high-profile gambling content streamer, recently called out Twitch for allowing online slot and casino content. These are two areas that the company specifically said it wouldn’t allow. But he provided evidence that they’re alive and well.

In one of his broadcasts, Trainwreck showed another channel that was recording online slot play. It had about 20K concurrent views, and Trainwreck wanted to know how Twitch could allow it. The company never responded.

xQc backs him up. He said Twitch has to evenly enforce the rules across the board, not pick and choose where it wants to apply them. However, without some sort of intervention, Twitch will continue to do what it needs to do to protect its bottom line.