Twitch Streamer Collects $2.32M World Cup Bet
World Cup fever has gripped football fans around the world, with many flocking to sportsbooks and placing wagers on the games taking place in Qatar. A lucky and popular Twitch streamer reeled in $2,324,621.65 following Australia’s 1-4 loss against France. Tyler “Trainwreck” Niknam was on cloud nine after his four-game accumulator romped in, earning him a seven-figure haul. Amazingly, he was so adamant his bet would win, he staked $37,866.08 worth of bitcoin on the outcome!
Niknam was one of the biggest-earning Twitch streamers in the online pokies category. He claims to have wagered $1.48 billion on Bitcoin pokies before Twitch banned games of chance from its streaming platform. Niknam switched to sports betting following the controversial ban, and the switch looks profitable.
The first leg of his bet came in after he bet on Saudi Arabia to beat Argentina. This was a strange bet, not least because Saudi Arabia is the lowest-ranked team in the World Cup, while Argentina was second-favourite to win the competition. That said, Saudi Arabia pulled off a shock 2-1 win, and Niknam was up and running.
The gambler predicted draws in the Denmark versus Tunisia, and Mexico versus Poland games. Both games ended in a draw, although Poland’s Robert Lewandowski missed a penalty in the 58th minute. All Niknam now needed was for France to beat Australia. The Aussies took a shock lead inside ten minutes, but France proved too strong for the Socceroos, and ran out 4-1 winners. Therefore, Niknam won $2,324,621.65 for his audacious bet.
Why Twitch Banned Games of Chance Gambling
Gambling was popular on Twitch until the Amazon-owned company banned it. Thousands of players watched as streamers play blackjack online but some content creators claimed gambling streams potentially caused viewers harm. Viewers loved watching streamers bag dozens of free spins and hit jackpots. However, many cleverly edited their videos to make it look like they always won. In addition, many used guest accounts and either play money or money staked by the online casino, therefore, turning the streams into a kind of live advertisement.
Niknam was one of the few gambling Twitch streams that used his own bankroll in addition to showing his losses. He regularly pleaded with his fans to only gamble with money they could afford to lose.
Twitch acted following a handful of high-profile cases where streamers showed gambling problems. First, “xQc” streamed himself winning $1.185 million before losing it all. Another streamer, “ItsSliker” admitted borrowing from fans to fuel his gambling addiction. That was the last straw for Twitch.
Banning Statement Names Established Companies
Twitch issued a statement September 20 that announced the banning of some gambling from October 18. The statement named several United States-focused online casinos.
“Gambling content on Twitch has long been a big top of discussion in the community, and something we’ve been actively reviewing since our last policy update in this area. Today, we want to update you on our plans. While we prohibit sharing links or referral codes to all sites that include slots, roulette, or dice games, we’ve seen some people circumnavigate those rules and expose our community to potential harm.”
“So, we’ll be making a policy update on October 18 to prohibit streaming of gambling sites that include slots, roulette, or dice games that aren’t licensed either in the U.S. or other jurisdictions that provide sufficient consumer protection. These sites include Stake.com, Rollbit.com, Duelbits.com, and Roobet.com. However, we may identify other as we move forward.”
“We continue allowing websites focusing on sports betting, fantasy sports, and poker. We’ll share specifics on the updates to our Gambling policy soon, including the full policy language, to make sure everyone is clear on our new rules before they take effect on October 18th.”
