Popular Twitch streamer Tyler “Trainwrecks” Niknam is on the horns of a dilemma as he debates whether he should continue streaming gambling content.
Gambling Is Not Something Trainwrecks Feels Fully Comfortable About
After Twitch announced that it would suspend all channels featuring illegal gambling links and referral codes, many streams have become contrarian of any previous ties they may have had with such establishments. As reported earlier, Tyler “Trainwrecks” Niknam was one of the streamers to have ties with gambling companies, particularly Stake.com, which has come under a lot of scrutiny.
The streamer himself has never actively encouraged his 1.5 million followers to gamble. If anything, Trainwrecks have been remarkably forthcoming about the nature of such promotional streams, arguing that slot streamers usually do not use their own money to boost awareness for gambling brands but are granted that money by casinos interested in raising their profile with gamers.
While casino gaming is diametrically opposed to traditional video gaming, Twitch has been flooded with enough of these illegal casino advertisements to prompt the Amazon-owned giant into action, and clamp down on the streaming assets is considered illegal.
What Does Trainwrecks Have to Say about Gambling
In a recent stream on September 3, Trainwrecks brought in even more clarity about the nature of such streaming deals and what they meant. “I’ve always been on the crossroads of this gambling stuff,” he explained. “Now, I’m at a point where it’s no longer at a crossroads. I’m worried,” he continued.
He admitted that he is worried about attaching his name to anything and added that he was beginning to feel uncomfortable gambling. “I don’t know if I feel comfortable anymore because it doesn’t make sense. It is not possible,” Trainwrecks said.
The streamer does have a point in taking a personal issue with gambling, but the real issue here is not the promotion of gambling per se, but rather doing so to an audience that should not have access to the platforms promoted in the first place.
Trainwrecks sounded conflicted over the issue, and he managed to once again ask his channel followers not to gamble. “Please, I beg you, do not gamble,” he implored. “I cannot press this enough. You cannot gamble. You will lose, do you understand? I cannot stress it enough,” Trainwrecks rued. However, no definitive answer of whether he will be dropping gambling completely was offered.
For the time being, it’s safe to assume that Trainwrecks will make another appearance in the Slots category, which was created by Twitch to separate casino streamers from the rest of the pack.
Correction: A previous version of the article stated that Stake.com accepts US players. That is untrue. We are sorry.