Twitch star Tyler ‘Trainwreck’ Niknam — the face of the platform’s gambling section — has hit back at multitudes of claims to ban the practice on Twitch following news of ‘Sliker’ “scamming” viewers out of thousands to gamble.
Gambling on Twitch has been a controversial topic for years, especially since the rise of Slots on the platform. However calls to ban the practice were amplified after ‘Sliker’ admitted to asking fans and fellow streamers for loans in the thousands to gamble with.
The accusations of “scamming” were plentiful, and Twitch’s biggest gambling streamer Trainwreck admitted to being one person trying to help Sliker repay their gambling debts.
However Niknam has stopped short of joining the chorus of streaming stars to ban the practice, claiming what Sliker did was different to the content that’s popular on Twitch.
“To be clear, the people scapegoating Slots, Blackjack, and Roulette and not blaming the individual are the real problem,” Trainwreck said on September 18. “On top of that, Sliker was a sports betting addict, the one type of gambling that is normalized and I don’t hear a single one of you clout goblin f**ks talking about.”
The Twitch star did add a caveat to his claims though: those that abuse the influencer relationship and deceive viewers should be booted off the platform entirely.
He called some of the practices gambling streamers use to engage viewers “predatory”, and there needs to be more accountability for those stars.
“With that said, the streamers and viewers who sell a false reality should be banned. People who gate keep giveaways through codes that require you to gamble should be banned. People who hide all losses and only show wins should be banned.”
WITH THAT SAID, the STREAMERS & VIEWERS who sell a false reality should be banned, people who gate keep giveaways through codes that require you to gamble should be banned, people who hide all losses and only show wins should be banned, things like this are predatory
— Trainwreck (@Trainwreckstv) September 18, 2022
Twitch is yet to take any action on gambling streams in the aftermath of Sliker’s admissions. Individual stars have taken it into their own hands though, with Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel and Ludwig Ahgren banding together to repay fans “scammed” by Sliker. Trainwreck has also vowed to help those affected.
Social media has exploded with anecdotes of people losing thousands after being influenced by streaming stars to gamble, and some big names like Imane ‘Pokimane’ Anys have called for its ban.