Twitch has come under increased scrutiny in Sweden over its supposed promotion of unlicensed online casinos.
As reported by Dexerto, Kulturnyheterna, an investigative branch of Swedish television network Sveriges Television AB, detailed that “eight out of ten Swedish influencers on Twitch had promoted unregulated casinos.”
Spelinspektionen, the Swedish gambling authority, has been warned off the back of the report and may well intensify action against the global streaming platform, which has long been a hub for slots streamers.
It comes after continued efforts from Twitch to improve social responsibility when it comes to the promotion of gambling.
Just last year, the platform detailed that its ban of the promotion on unlicensed gambling would be extended to deposit limits, waiting periods, and age verification systems.
A statement from the firm said: “After monitoring the update’s impact for the last year—as well as hearing directly from you—it became clear that some people were circumventing those rules, and that further steps were necessary.”
The latest findings in Sweden will likely prompt further action from Twitch as it aims to build a sustainable and socially responsible model when it comes to gambling content. Governance in Sweden takes a strong approach to combating the promotion of unlicensed gambling operators.
Twitch has had turbulence over its promotion of gambling products having been sanctioned over breaches of the dignity decree in Italy.
A €900,000 sanction was issued to Twitch over violations of the advertising laws of the Dignity Decree.
Issuing the fines, AGCOM stated that its attention had been drawn to Google’s YouTube platform and the Twitch streaming service “following numerous reports received by the Authority”.
The AGCOM investigation uncovered videos promoting slot machines, gambling, sports betting, and scratch cards.
Following the intervention, the illegal content was removed as Google and Twitch were ordered to prevent future uploads of similar violating content under the Digital Services Act (DSA).