UFC Stream Promotes Stake.com

Viewers on Twitch are perplexed after a sponsored UFC stream promotes the cryptocurrency gambling website Stake, in violation of the website’s own Terms of Service.

Twitch eventually took action against gambling content on the Amazon-owned platform last October after receiving weeks of criticism from the streaming community. According to the platform’s new rules, creators are not allowed to use streaming services that offer unlicensed dice, slots, or roulette games. Stake.com, Rollbit.com, and other websites were named by Twitch as being prohibited. However, since the gambling website was recently advertised in a UFC broadcast, users are now criticizing the platform’s hypocrisy.

Twitch user “AbusiveSyndrome” noted how the service enabled the UFC to advertise Stake on their channel in a LivestreamFail thread from March 25. As the official betting partner of the UFC, the viewer shared a tape that showed Stake’s advertisement on the octagon’s mat in crystal clear detail, confusing many.

One commenter criticized Twitch as being “just another hypocrisy .” Another person added, “So Twitch is just going back to gambling again.” 

The UFC isn’t in breach of Twitch’s Terms of Service, a Reddit user pointed out. The rule prohibits streamers from directly directing viewers to prohibited websites or sharing referral codes with chat users. It sounds a little ambiguous, but I would interpret that to mean that they forbid broadcasting on the website, leaving streamers free to promote Stake even if they choose not to visit the website. Therefore, this stream is not problematic, they concluded.

In the past year, gambling on Twitch has undoubtedly generated debate. The Slots category is still very popular on the Amazon-owned site despite the policy update. But as a list of prohibited websites expands, that might soon change.