Streaming platform Kick has enhanced its KYC and ID verification to combat irresponsible exposure to gambling content.
The streaming platform outlined in a wave of new regulations that from February of next year, gambling content can only be streamed from gambling sites that have utilised ID to verify the KYC of their viewers.
The action follows the partnership agreement between Kick and Internet Watch Forum (IWF), which is clamping down on “harmful and exploitative” content.
Further strengthening these efforts, Kick has also commenced with a significant update to its safety hub, as well as enabling streamers to personalise their chat in a bid to eradicate bots.
Gambling content, however, has always been a key part of what Kick offers, after it was initially founded by Bijan Tehrani and Ed Craven, who also co-founded Stake.
Since then streaming has evolved significantly, especially around gambling content with the growth of crash games and the gamification of slots aligning with enhanced engagement for streamers.
Gambling content has always very much been at the forefront of what Kick offers, with an abundance of some of the most famous streamers expanding into the sector.
The tightening of Kick’s rules also coincides with a sharp rise in streamers moving directly to the Stake platform to stream content.
Whilst there was significant praise for the latest steps by Kick, Streamer Xposed did take to X to emphasise his disappointment at the decision.
He stated: “The sole purpose to create kick was for a place for gamblers to have the freedom to stream wherever they want and have a home to stream at. Now these guys at Stake are losing streamers by the day and were forced to provide an extra level of KYC check to the website.”
“All this shows is CONTROL over their website entirely and to make everybody come back to Stake and promote only their product.
“On top of that, any streamer that is streaming other gambling websites viewers are deflated and they are not allowed to be shown on the front page or on the recommended section of Kick making them more difficult to be discovered which hurts the streamers who aren’t streaming Stake and backing them into a corner.”