Twitch is a platform revered for its video-streaming capabilities. Nonetheless, this Amazon-owned enterprise has come under scrutiny for its policy restricting gambling-related content. With multiple online casino services and other companies demonstrating a united stance against gambling — mainly when it denotes child involvement — Twitch becomes one of the latest entities to join the bandwagon, and recent Heelmike Twitch ban action proves it.
Twitch’s gambling caveat and its latest update have stirred much controversy amongst viewers and streamers alike. This casino news takes a cursory look at the revolutionary policy, shedding further light on the Heelmike twitch ban action that stemmed from the regulation’s application.
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An Overview of Heelmike Twitch Account’s Recent Ban
On September 20th 2022, Twitch released a memo that rocked the video-streaming world. In this press release, Twitch confirmed that users had found ways to circumvent its last policy update that prevented them from sharing links and referral codes to iGaming sites hosting online casino skill games like slots, roulette, and dice.
As such, the video-streaming service operators reiterated that they would be rolling out a subsequent update by October 18th 2022, which they did. According to Twitch, the regulation overhaul would prohibit streaming online casino video game sites featuring slots, roulette, or dice titles not licensed in the United States of America or jurisdictions offering enough customer protection.
In the updated gambling policy, Twitch uncovered and listed some sites violating this caveat and promised to highlight more compromising platforms in the long run. Meanwhile, the video-streaming service maintained that it’d offer coverage to platforms geared towards fantasy sports, poker, and sports betting.
The “Why” Behind Twitch’s Gambling Restrictions
The “Why” behind Twitch’s recent gambling policy update can be traced back to the #TwitchStopGambling campaign led by some of the platform’s leading streamers — Mizkif, Pokimane, and Devin Nash. They threatened a boycott until Twitch implemented a policy banning gambling-related activities on its platform.
The hashtag curated by the trio came on the heels of reports confirming another revered streamer — Sliker — scammed his fans and other streamers to the tune of a mind-boggling $200,000. These assertions were valid as Silker — reputed for his CS:GO gameplay — confessed that he misappropriated donations to fund his gambling addictions.
Heelmike’s Debacle With Twitch: A Case of “Old Flames” Being Rekindled?
Since the latest Twitch gambling update came to the fore, wagering-related activities on the platform have become almost non-existent. For context, many streamers who carved a niche for themselves (notably Trainwrecks and xQc) have left the platform, moving on to other endeavors.
Heelmike was another streamer who followed the gambling trend on Twitch when the latest policies hadn’t been conceived. Rather than leaving the scene like the streamers mentioned above, he remains somewhat active on the platform.
Things were moving smoothly on the streamer’s account until the Heekmike Twitch account got banned on December 27th 2022. However, this isn’t the first time Twitch has banned Heelmike. According to StreamerBans, he has been suspended SIX TIMES!
However, the latest Heelmike Twitch ban is significant due to its ties with the video-streaming platform’s updated gambling regulations. Shortly after the ban took effect, the streamer made this tweet:
“ALTHOUGH I HAVEN’T BEEN LIVE FOR 4 DAYS DUE TO CHRISTMAS, I JUST RECEIVED AN INDEFINITE TWITCH BAN TODAY.” SH#T IS STRESSFUL, DAM. I HOPE EVERYTHING GETS RESOLVED, AND I’LL KEEP YOU UPDATED 💜
CAWWWWWWWWW 🦅”
After posting this tweet on his verified Twitter account, he made this follow-up post hours later:
“SUBMITTED MY TWITCH BAN APPEAL 🙏🙏🙏
CROSSING OUR FINGERS THAT EVERYTHING GOES WELL AND WE GET REMOVED FROM THE BANNING!
BOY WAS ON A ROLL, SO I’M SINCERELY HOPING IT’S NOT A PERMANENT BAN. I APPRECIATE EVERY ONE OF YOU, AND I LOVE YOU ALL.💜💜💜”
Although the Heelmike Twitch ban action doesn’t give much detail, fans made their assumptions. Some suggested his comments about scamming kids for casino endorsements placed his account on Twitch’s ban list.
While it’s common for streamers to get lengthy bans spanning from a week to months, Heelmike regained control of his account on December 31st 2022 — just four days after his initial ban. Talk about the perfect New Year’s gift!
Final Thoughts
Twitch’s gambling policy and its effects might see iGaming lovers continue to ask about the game and various questions arise, such as “are online slots a scam?” or “can casino online games be hacked?”. Nonetheless, it’s vital to note that Twitch streaming service went this route to curtail underage gambling and scams on its platform, making it more safe to evey user.
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