Daily Archives: July 16, 2021

The Twitch community has spoken out repeatedly about the trouble with gambling streams. There are some pretty huge streamers running gambling streams on Twitch, where they run slots for hours upon end. This is perhaps thanks to the rise of cryptocurrency casinos. Its been said that 64 of the top 1,000 most-trafficked Twitch streamers have gambled on the crypto slots, or advertise deals with a variety of crypto gambling websites. There are a wealth of dangers when it comes to gambling streams, and not even just potentially going broke live on the stream. It very well could be that these streamers are playing with currency provided by the sites, to get more people interested. So whats the big deal with gambling streams? Do they need to be monitored for the safety of others? Absolutely.

Gambling can be a lot of fun. Especially when you get a seriously big win. But gambling addiction is a serious danger, and its being presented in a harmful manner on Twitch. Mizkif pointed out in a Twitch stream that he wasnt even using his own money. He was receiving offers to stream gambling on Twitch for 35,000 an hour, for ten hours. That is an incredible amount of money. He also pointed out that his sponsors would refill his account so he could gamble freely without fear of losing any actual money.

Mizkif did stop doing this at one point. But why? He had this to say:

Morality came into play. It did. I felt shitty doing any type of gambling sponsorship. And I know people are like, Mizkif, but you do sponsors all fucking day. If you download Dungeons and Dragons, whats the worst that happens? You lose $40 and a couple of hours of your life. Gambling is different.

He clearly understood there was a danger here. Quite a few of the major players on Twitch spoke about the dangers of these streams, from Pokimane to xQc. Twitch isnt going to stop gambling streams though. They just made it clear that streamers must respect all applicable local, national, and international laws while using [Twitch] services. Any content or activity featuring, encouraging, offering, or soliciting illegal activity is prohibited.

So whats the problem, if people are obeying the law in these streams? There are a few problems. If the gambling sites are giving Twitch streamers free money to gamble with, its a false representation of what gambling is like. There are a host of young, impressionable fans of these streamers, and if they see its easy and fun, it is incredibly irresponsible. Streamers with primarily younger audiences owe it to them to be role models to the kids. Promoting gambling as something safe and fun to do without risks is not wise. In addition, there is likely a fair amount of gambling on Twitch that is not above board. With so many minors on Twitch, its very concerning how popular the Slots category is becoming on the site.

Theres more to gambling on the site than slots though. In the past, Moe m0E Assad was sponsored by a CSGO skin-gambling site (CSGO Diamonds), and they told him the outcomes of games in advance so he could fix results in his favor. Thats absolutely beyond reproach. There have been a variety of streamers involved in shady deals like that as well, leading people to spend outrageous money on CSGO skin gambling.

So gambling isnt going to stop on Twitch anytime soon, but hopefully, these streams will actually be monitored more closely. All we have is Twitchs word, and we have seen time and again that the site is not exactly even-handed in how they hand out punishments. Well keep an eye on this as it develops to see if a change occurs.

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Twitch Is Keeping An Eye on Controversial Gambling Streams - EsportsTalk

Commercial gambling accelerated amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and now more than ever its important to have a comprehensive look at gambling prevalence and behaviors in the U.S.

Online gambling showed strong growth amid the lockdown and now, with the vaccine effort fully underway, gamblers are returning to physical casinos as well. To better understand outlooks on commercial gambling, YouGov launched Global Gambling Profiles,* a tool that continually gathers data on gamblers. The dataset provides insights into where people typically gamble and the types of bets they tend to place, and uncovers how else they live their lives, from the sports and teams they follow to their core demographics their media consumption.

Americans love the lottery. Although our sample of gamblers specifically excludes those whose only form of gambling is playing the lottery, the activity is still the most popular form of wager, even if its popularity is somewhat less pronounced among younger generations. Overall, almost two in five (37%) plan to play a lottery game in the next 30 days.

Casino betting appears next on the list, with about one in five Americans (21%) saying they will bet in a casino over the same period. This form of gambling is more or less consistent in its popularity among all age groups, except those ages 18 to 24, where it falls to 15%. Online forms of casino and card gambling are also popular, particularly with the 25-34 age bracket. Almost a quarter of this age group (23%) say they will play an online casino game in the next 30 days. Thats compared with a broader average of 15%.

One-sixth of our regular gamblers also show an inclination toward online slots (17%), while one in seven say they will buy a ticket for a lucky draw in the next 30 days (14%).

It might come as a surprise to some that sports betting doesnt feature in the top five, but thats partially because of the fragmented nature of sports-based gambling, featuring various formats that we track separately.

Fantasy sports betting is the subcategory that comes closest to joining the top five. One in eight regular gamblers say they will play fantasy sports for money in the next 30 days (13%).

Global Gambling Profiles also gives users actionable insights into the money placed on various types of gambling each month. Competition in the U.S. seems to be stiff across various categories in each price bracket, with slots tending to win out in some of the higher-stake brackets, but not by much.

The difference is most noticeable in the $100-$500 spend range. One in seven gamblers (14%) say they place between $100 and $500 on slots on average per month, leaving behind the other categories: casino games (11%), sports and fantasy sports betting (11%) and bingo (10%). Each of the categories draws bets in the $501$2,000 range monthly, from 6% to 7% of U.S. gamblers.

As the gambling market continues to diversify and evolve post-pandemic, its more important than ever to track and measure consumer attitudes toward gambling. YouGovs Global Gambling Profiles can help brands delve deeper into how people place bets and connect these behaviors with how bettors view general legislative change, sport sponsorships and other key industry developments.

Regular gamblers in this piece are defined as those who have engaged in any form of gambling other than the lottery in the past 30 days. YouGov Global Gambling Profiles, which includes data from 23 markets, is based on continuously collected data from several sources rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Data referenced is based on a sample size of between 1,337 and 1,791 U.S. adults. Online interviews were conducted in April 2021.

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Why the explosion in gambling data is a boon for marketers - AdAge.com

Many believe the gambling industry across the globe is at a crossroads right now in all areas of its business, and there are two options to choose from for the future chaos or sustainability.

Taking part in the panel entitled: Chaos or Sustainability: The Choice is in our Hands sponsored by KPMG on Day One of CasinoBeats Summit, Richard Schuetz, CEO of Schuetz LLC, explored whats wrong currently with the gambling industry, to which he believes theres a total lack of harmonization across the industry in the European Union, the United States and in the United Kingdom.

Speaking on the Betsson Group sponsored Products & Innovation Track, Schuetz said: I think theres a crisis in the US, I think theres a crisis in the UK, and I also think theres a crisis in the EU. Theres a total lack of harmonization. You can go to the United States, operate in one state, then go across the state line and the rules are all different.

The internal controls could be different, you may have to have a separate server, if you look at how Tennessee does it versus how New Jersey does it, its apples to oranges. Thats a system thats not conducive to a strong industry being able to develop.

Theres regulatory failures throughout We have a whole bunch of regulators that have no earthly idea what theyre regulating. In the United States, they appoint politicians to become regulators. I notice in the UK, they pick people who have experience with public utilities because I guess that gives them some insight that theyre going to need in order to understand.

I always laugh at that because I use the example of how would you like to go for heart surgery, knowing that the person that regulates that process, is a politicians friend? The person that wrote the internal controls for your heart procedure is a lawyer. Im just startled by the fact we dont use people with industry experience to regulate the industry.

Alongside fellow panelists San Diego State University Professor and Endowed Chair, Katherine Spilde, and Praxis Consulting and Advisory Managing Director, Steven Myers, Schuetz believes a solution to bring sustainability to the gambling industry is the Gaming Knowledge Center (GKC).

Spilde explained that the GKC is based on the Sycuan Institute On Tribal Gaming, and aims to deliver sustainability through three key agendas evidence-based research, teaching knowledge of the industry, while acting as a resource for public policy issues.

She revealed that the GKC will deliver on these agendas by conducting data-driven, evidence-based research on gaming issues; developing programs and materials to encourage globally sensitive modeling and policy; and facilitating successful government-industry-community relations for informed choices and productive discourse around legislation.

Further measures would include encouraging and developing global gaming standards in service, regulation, responsibility, and policy; and gathering and analyzing gaming industry data from around the world to utilize a best practice approach

Spilde added: Gambling is exploding globally in all forms. Certainly in the US, we have an explosion of online and sports betting happening state to state. Some of it is reactionary, the neighbor state is doing it so were going to do it. That harmonization really is a big challenge.

Theres so many concerns that governments have that I think a lot of this type of academic and rigorous data-driven and evidence-based research could really help and I would love to share our model and honor the tribe. Ive actually worked with over 180 tribes individually in the United States and I have a lot of models which we can draw from and I would love to share that with everybody that is still expanding globally.

Regarding how the GKC would work, Myers said the most important thing that needs to be established is trust between the industry, the government, and the academics, as well as to get a debate following, especially with strategic partners.

He stated: The Gaming Knowledge Center is about providing some harmonization. Whilst Europe tells us explicitly that harmonization is not the way forward, we believe that it is in terms of best practice, in terms of the gaming industry, and using evidence-based research for everyones benefit is important.

Of course, data is important, particularly between operators, data-sharing is quite often a difficult thing to ask, but we hope over time that will happen. Saying that theres a lot of data out there at the moment, it just needs cleaning up, and we can really make an effort to do that and carry out some good empirical research with regards to it.

We want to give a balanced, global view of success and failure. At the end of the day, you need to know sometimes whats wrong and why, but equally, why success happens and what makes it a success. Sustainability is a risk at the moment within the gaming industry.

The GKC would operate on a spoke and wheel concept with information flowing from the hub, out and back again to its three founding centers in Europe, the UK, and the US. Each center will be specialized in a certain area and will share its information with the other centers.

Potential research areas and collaborative working include strategy, suitability, sustainability, diversity, regulation/legal, responsible gaming/problem gambling, economic impact, taxation, and data analytics.

In terms of funding, Myers noted that this can be achieved through philanthropy, the industry, regulators, and government, as well as through an endowment. A university Chair sponsorship named after a renowned individual(s) in the sector, a knowledge repository (physical and online), individual research projects, and global gaming census sales were also named as possible funding sources.

As for how the centers will operate, they will do so through strict integrity and suitability criteria, independence at the heart of center research, an advisory board, visiting faculty, and a wider pool of research grants as centers become more integrated.

Funding proposals for the GKC are currently scheduled to take place later this year in the autumn/fall, and the first executing training programs are expected to take place in London next year, as well as a preliminary gaming research report.

Schuetz concluded: Were trying to give something back. Were trying to create a legacy that will be worthwhile to this industry. I think its imperative to understand that really what were trying to do is create sustainability. Right now, this industry has not done a very good job of creating sustainability. Its creating instability.

The second thing and this is the most important thing we can say, of all the products that we generate, the most important is trust.

The CasinoBeats Summit 2021 conference and exhibition on 14-15 July takes place in an innovative integrated live and digital format. A select audience of senior executives will attend in person at the InterContinental in St Julians, Malta, while a global audience of industry professionals will participate in the event online.

The conference agenda focuses on the next generation of slots and products, key established and emerging markets around the world, leadership in igaming, and marketing and affiliation. The programme also includes the inaugural Game Developer Awards ceremony.

Register for a free online pass for the event at the CasinoBeats Summit website.

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CBS: Gambling industry harmonization can be achieved through the Gaming Knowledge Center - SBC Americas

Morality came into play. It did. I felt shitty doing any type of gambling sponsorship, he later said. And I know people are like, Mizkif, but you do sponsors all fucking day. If you download Dungeons and Dragons, whats the worst that happens? You lose $40 and a couple of hours of your life. Gambling is different.

Online gambling is regulated by a combination of federal and state laws in the US. Gambling websites need a license to operate in individual statesit doesnt matter whether theyre operating with hard USD or digital currency. Many crypto casinos, like Stake and Duelbits, are based offshore in countries like Curaao and do not have those licenses. Yet they are easy to access from the US through a VPN. (More reputable online gambling sites ask users for more data points to confirm their location.) While these sites block the US, they do not prevent access from people within the US, says Jeff Ifrah, an attorney who specializes in online gambling law. Ifrah says he recently has been fielding lots of questions from US-based Twitch streamers and their representatives. While legal experts say it can be tough to prosecute these websites, their US-based promoters may be open to scrutiny.

Taking sponsorships from and encouraging illegal gambling can land streamers in sticky legal territory, Ifrah says. He warns streamers against advertising these crypto gambling sites while streaming from the US. My advice to them is that, basically, the underlying activity is illegal. It still happens, though. Theres a lot of money in it, he says. Streamers have told me, Hey, I don't want to just give this up. This is a big opportunity for me, because these sites pay a lot of money.

There may be big opportunities, but they can come with big risks. A lot of the gambling promoted on Twitch is illegal or unregulated and poses definite risks for consumers, vulnerable adults, and adolescents or underage children, says Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, an organization that promotes comprehensive policies to support healthy, legal gambling. Because these sites often arent vetted as much as sites that are legal in the US, experts question whether their odds are fair and what their backends look like, says Whyte. Its a fairly common tactic in the unregulated gambling industry to inflate win rates.

Gambling experts interviewed by WIRED say that right now its on Twitch to act. The health of their users is something to be concerned about, says Whyte. They have enormous incentive to police content that is either illegal, unregulated, or potentially harmful.

Twitchs terms of service prohibit illegal activity on its website and ask users to comply with the Federal Trade Commissions guidelines on advertising. That said, it does not specifically ban gambling streams. Crypto gambling is flourishing on Twitch, frankly, because it is allowed to. By contrast, livestreaming competitors YouTube and Facebook Gaming prohibit streaming online gambling sites that have not been previously reviewed. Twitch also has gambling-related categories, such as slots, which have no age limit to prevent younger viewers from watching. (Some stream titles say 18+.)

Twitch told WIRED, We strictly prohibit illegal content and activity on the service, and take action in all verified incidents of illegal gambling that are reported to us. Our Community Guidelines make clear that [Streamers] must respect all applicable local, national, and international laws while using our services. Any content or activity featuring, encouraging, offering, or soliciting illegal activity is prohibited. The company adds that its goal is to foster a safe, positive experience for all users of our service and that it is closely monitoring gambling content.

Twitch has had to deal with gambling-related controversies on its platform before. Years ago, top streamers gambled with cosmetics from the first-person shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. So called skins gambling was an unregulated frontier that soon became massively popularand filled with allegations of foul play. The first Twitch streamer to reach 1 million, and later 2 million, followers was Tom Syndicate Cassell. Cassell drew in huge audiences gambling and winning big on the site CSGOLotto.com, but he also reached a settlement with the FTC in late 2017 for failing to disclose his status as vice president of CSGOLotto.com while promoting it.

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Twitch Streamers Rake in Millions With a Shady Crypto Gambling Boom - WIRED

Active accounts and gross gambling yield (GGY) have decreased from March 2020 to May 2021, according to the latest data from the Gambling Commission.

The former decreased 14%, with the latter decreasing 5%. Total bets meanwhile remained at a similar level.

Slots GGY increased to 211m from April to May, with the number of spins increasing 2% and active players decreasing 5%. The number of online slots sessions lasting longer than one hour decreased by 1%, with the average session length increasing to 20.7 minutes. Almost 9% of all sessions lasted over one hour.

The data aims to show how the evolving Covid-19 lockdown measures have impacted online gambling behaviour in Great Britain.

The Commission did, however, note that it is not advisable to make year-on-year comparisons between months in 2020 and months in 2021, due to differing operating circumstances of 2020 and 2021.

The body also urged operators to increase vigilance going forward, saying: We recognise that the country is now entering a different phase as we continue to ease out of lockdown. We continue to expect extra vigilance from operators as consumers are impacted in different ways by the circumstances. Many people will still feel vulnerable as a result of the length of the pandemic period and further uncertainty about their personal or financial circumstances.

It is likelymany have picked up new gambling routines and habits duringlockdown that may be hard to change as things return to normal,even as normal spending on other things resumes. This could be challenging for some and important for operators to identify through their monitoring.

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Gambling Commission reports decline in active accounts and GGY - Gambling Insider - In-depth Analysis for the Gaming Industry

With help from federal and state authorities, Anniston police seized 59 gaming machines, a gun and cash from illegal gambling establishments following raids Thursday morning, the citys police chief said.

Chief Nick Bowles said he gave the establishments notice after a similar raid a few months ago but the illegal businesses did not heed his warning.

I told you, I guess people thought I was playing, people thought it was a joke, Bowles said in a Facebook video announcing the busts. The department was aided by the FBI and the Calhoun County Sheriffs Office in serving the warrants associated with the raids.

Bowles likened the gambling establishments to annoying flies.

Absolutely, we have better things to do than bust illegal gambling sites, the chief said. But its like when yourecooking a home-cooked meal and theres a fly flying around, its very annoying but you got to deal with that fly before you get back to your meal. So these are the annoying flies that we have to deal with.

As for residents who complain that the department should tackle real crime, Bowles said illegal gambling dens are havens for other criminal activity.

Real crime follows these places. Weve had assaults, robberies, a shootout and even a murder at one of them. Theres drug dealing going on, theres illegal alcohol sales every vice thats available out there comes along with these gambling establishments, he said. So we will keep busting them -- dont open them. Dont come to Anniston, if you dont want to see me in your place then dont open a gaming establishment in Anniston, period.

Aside from the gaming machines, police seized a gun, three ATMS and an undisclosed amount of cash.

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We will keep busting them: Anniston police seize 59 gaming machines after warning of raids - AL.com

Traveling north on U.S. Highway 75 just past the Texas-Oklahoma border, a new 21-story tower rises from the flatlands and comes into view well before the rest of the popular Choctaw Casino & Resort.

The 300,000-square-foot Sky Tower is the latest jewel of the Choctaw Nations flagship property and represents a $600 million expansion that progressed despite the pandemics debilitating economic fallout.

When it opens to the public on Aug. 6, itll offer gamblers and getaway visitors 1,000 new hotel rooms, six restaurants, 11 bars and a 3-acre, two-swimming pool area designed to appeal to adults with or without children in tow. The expansion also brings in 40 new poker tables and over 3,300 new slot machines, raising Choctaws total to 136 tables and over 7,200 machines.

And itll provide 1,200 jobs for Oklahomans and North Texans.

The tower in Durant, Okla., broke ground in 2019, and despite its price tag leaves the tribe with no debt.

Choctaw and the Chickasaw Nations Winstar World Casino and Resort are popular destinations for North Texans, who make up a large percentage of casino visitors each year. Both are a little over 80 miles from downtown Dallas and heavily advertise on billboards throughout the region.

Choctaw estimates that two-thirds of its visitors live in Dallas-Fort Worth, while Texans represent 80% of all patrons.

We have purposely designed our new expansion to appeal to all guests in the nearby states of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas by providing an elevated resort-style gaming experience within a short distance from home, said Choctaw assistant general manager Wendy Carter.

Kyle Dean, director of the Native American and Urban Studies Center at Oklahoma City University, said the competition between these Oklahoma casinos lies in the attractions each offers, driving different interests to different locations.

To some degree, theyre in competition, and to some degree, theyre complementary, Dean said. They create this southern Oklahoma gambling complex that draws from the captive audience that is North Texas.

WinStar has nearly 400,000 square feet of gaming floor and over 8,600 electronic games. Its also known for its entertainment lineup, though live events were canceled or postponed during the pandemic.

Choctaw resumes live entertainment in August, with country music headliners Dan and Shay, Miranda Lambert and Darius Rucker.

Carter said consumer demand was the key reason for the tower expansion, along with opportunities to elevate the guest experience. Hotel occupancy rates and demand for gaming were growing consistently before the pandemic and are now on the rebound as COVID-19 infection rates slow and vaccination increases.

We are excited to see the property fulfill the demand, said Carter, who is in her eighth year with the Choctaw Nation.

Carter said some of the jobs being added by the expansion carry a $1,000 sign-on bonus. The company has filled about half the 1,200 positions it will need.

Choctaw is also prepping for other ways to use the new addition.

Business conventions were shut down temporarily last year at the resort. But Carter said she saw a steady flow of new bookings after COVID-19 guidelines allowed reopening. Choctaw closed March 16 and reopened with COVID-19 protocols on June 1, 2020.

Before the pandemic, Choctaw tried to avoid weekend conferences and weddings, Carter said. The expansion changes that, with Choctaw looking to attract more weddings and conferences for extended weekend stays.

We believe that our constraint before was the number of available guest rooms, so we added 1,000, and that should help us attract much higher attendance rates for conferences and things of that nature, Carter said, noting that the hotel had 717 rooms previously.

Casey Clark, senior vice president of communications at the American Gaming Association, said the pandemic placed a significant strain on casinos across the country last year, with 989 shut down in a matter of weeks. The National Indian Gaming Commission reported gaming revenue of $34.6 billion in 2019, though comparable data for 2020 hasnt been made public yet.

[The pandemic] dropped game revenue for the year by over 30% year over year, Clark said. It impacts nearly two million jobs across the country and the small businesses they support.

Choctaw and other tribes pay fees to the state of Oklahoma based on revenue from gaming activities. In fiscal 2020, those fees fell 16.6% to $123.6 million the first decline since 2014. Choctaw contributed $23 million of that total.

The pandemic had a significant negative impact, closing casinos for several months before they were cleared to start back up at reduced capacity, according to an annual report by Oklahomas gaming compliance unit. Fees collected by the state had grown consistently since 2005, when voters approved tribal gaming. Choctaw opened in 2006.

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma consists of more than 200,000 people and operated last year with a $1.9 billion annual fiscal budget. Profits from its businesses provide educational programs, health services and job opportunities.

For now, Choctaw and other casinos are focused on winning back guests and gamblers.

Carter said Choctaw has offered vaccinations to its guests and staff and their families as one way to safeguard against the spread of COVID-19.

We do feel ... confident that we are taking the steps to keep the business healthy and open, she said.

1/15The Prizm Lounge is at the hub of the casino floor at Choctaw Casino and Resort's new 21-story Sky Tower complex.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

2/15The new complex has over 3,300 slot machines.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

3/15The Onyx bar.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

4/15The Aqua at Sky Tower is a 3-acre, two swimming pool area, one for adults and one for families. The main pool here has a swim-up bar.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

5/15The lobby has stained glass and globe light fixtures.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

6/15The Salt & Stone restaurant on the casino floor.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

7/15The Salt & Stone restaurant is pictured on the casino floor of Choctaw Casino and Resort's new 21-story Sky Tower complex with a 1,000-room hotel, restaurants, conference center and retail in Durant, Oklahoma, Thursday, July 8, 2021. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News)(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

8/15A worker puts the finishing touches on a bank of video screens hanging over The League casino sports bar.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

9/15The Prizm Lounge is the hub of the casino floor.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

10/15A three-story circular light fixture hangs alongside the grand staircase in the Sky Tower lobby.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

11/15An enlarged photo of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek is on display in a private dining room of 1832 Steakhouse at Choctaw Casino and Resort's new 21-story Sky Tower complex.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

12/15An exterior view of Choctaw Casino and Resort's new 21-story complex.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

13/15A standard king hotel room.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

14/15A standard hotel room bathroom.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

15/15The Choctaw Casino and Resort is pictured from the new 21-story Sky Tower complex.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

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Choctaws massive $600 million expansion is nearly ready to welcome Texas gamblers - The Dallas Morning News