Where does casino streaming go from here?

In 2022 (through September), 350,000,000+ hours of slot streaming were consumed on Twitch. The market for this entertainment is substantial and not to be ignored.

According to Madness-Bonus.com, “The slots section [on Twitch] was created in December 2018. Back then, it had an average of 7,283 monthly viewers for 58 channels.” The average viewership per day in 2022 was 52k and about 140 channels – a 63% increase from 2021. Some attribute this growth to the closure of land-based casinos during Covid-19, but others believe that influencers such as Roshtein and TrainwreckTV laid the foundation and built the hype that led to the exponential growth.

Fast forward…In the last few weeks since the Twitch ban on unregulated sites, the Slots meta went from the 7th most popular channel to well below the 40th spot or worse, although it has recovered somewhat recently reaching 26th place, according to TwitchTracker. This, of course, begs the question, “Where do we go from here?”

Streaming slots is a valuable form of entertainment. It’s not going away, nor should the industry want it to. We believe that the Twitch ban opens up a big opportunity in the market for new streamers to compete and build a successful long-term career. It also allows regulated casinos to take more of the market share. Yes, some of the streamers will find another platform, some will go underground, but there is also a share of the market taking control of their own content in their own universe. Operators are recognising that some form of control, KYC/age-gating and compliance will be necessary if this form of entertainment is to be sustainable in this industry.

Livespins is a ‘first-mover’ in this space but there will be others. The effects of the Twitch ban remain to be seen, but there is no question that just about everyone – from operators to streamers to the audience themselves – will be thinking about the future of slots streaming.

Casino streamers will not go away because of the ban, they will look to bring their community to other platforms. Those with a longer-term outlook will find partners that understand the value of their content, are global and are also well-versed in the regulation and protection needed for sustainability. The Twitch ban will also paint a more realistic picture of what online casino/streaming is and the entertainment value it provides.

Chris Scicluna is the CEO of Livespins, an innovative startup creating a new, socially charged category of game play for the igaming industry. With a decade of experience working on some of the most cutting-edge products and brands in the industry, coupled with his specialised expertise in game mechanics and gamification, Scicluna is on a mission to build the best product-led company that brings value to the whole industry through exceptional player experiences.