Twitch bans CSGO Lotto and other Steam gambling streaming

The streaming of gambling sites that use Steam OpenID API has been banned by Twitch.

The move follows Valve’s first statement on the subject yesterday, in which it vowed to crack down on the increasingly controversial practise.

Valve specifically notes that using ‘the OpenID API and making the same web calls as Steam users to run a gambling business is not allowed by our API nor our user agreements’,” Twitch said.

As a reminder, per Twitch’s Terms of Service, broadcasters are not permitted to stream content that breaks the terms of service or user agreements of third-parties. As such, content in which the broadcaster uses or promotes services that violate Valve’s stated restrictions is prohibited on Twitch. Our Rules of Conduct lists other examples such as playing pirated games and playing on unauthorized private servers.”

Although unease at the CSGO gambling scene has been festering away in the background for some time, it came to a head earlier this month when two YouTubers – TmarTn and ProSyndicate – were found to have promoted CSGO skin gambling sites without disclosing their business association with them.

A round of weak apologies and social media onslaughts ensued, and continues, with the saga seemingly destined for a legal confrontation.