A 19-year-old says he became addicted to gambling streams on Twitch when he was 15. Now, he warns others not to make the same mistakes he did.
Gambling content has been a topic on Twitch for a while. Critics fear that viewers could be driven into addiction and financial ruin. Content creators, however, insist on the personal responsibility of their fans and at most see the state as responsible.
On Buzzfeed, a 19-year-old reports how he became addicted to gambling through Twitch and warns others.
MontanaBlack was temporarily one of the largest streamers worldwide with gambling content. He later said he had “infected” German Twitch with it.
He started betting at 15
How did it start? The anonymous author reports that he first came into contact with gambling on Twitch at the age of 15. This was through CS:GO streams. The shooter is known for its loot boxes, which can contain valuable skins.
The then 15-year-old started betting with digital items from the game. The links to the betting sites were shared by the streamers he watched. At that time, he played irregularly and with small bets of 5 to 10 euros per bet.
Since the announcement of Counter-Strike 2, opening boxes has become popular again on Twitch.
“Streams do not show a realistic picture”
This is how the addiction developed: At 18, the author eventually stumbled upon “casino streams” on Twitch through advertising. Content creators showcased winnings in the tens of thousands of euros there. He imagined winning that much money too.
Now he knows: “[These] streams do not show a realistic picture of gambling.”
What makes the streams so unrealistic? Streamers who enter into deals with casino sites are likely provided with money to gamble with during the stream. By placing high bets, they can achieve correspondingly high winnings. In this way, some bet enormous sums without batting an eye.
However, the high winnings are not achievable for young Twitch users like him, explains the former gambling addict. At that time, he pushed that thought aside.
Gambling streamers often celebrate their winnings loudly and with much shouting, like here Kevin “OrangeMorange” Bongers:
Inexpressible euphoria when winning
What influence did the streamers have? The now 19-year-old reports that he spent 500 to 600 euros a month on gambling during his training, but on one evening might spend 1,200 euros in an hour.
I felt lost with money because I didn’t hold it in my hand. In online casinos, you just click on amounts. The euphoria when I won money was indescribable.
His highest win was 4,000 euros – of which he lost almost 3,000 again. During that time, he thought several times about quitting gambling, but the casino streams on Twitch motivated him to keep playing.
This is how the addiction manifested: Eventually, he exchanged digital gambling for a real casino. For several months, he went almost every day, while he actually had no money left after 10 days. At that point, he no longer watched gambling streams on Twitch; real gambling was more appealing.
On the outside, he didn’t let anything show, worked alongside his school graduation, did sports, kept appointments. Friends and family, accordingly, noticed nothing of the addiction. But when he didn’t go to the casino, he felt “weird.”
19-year-old frees himself from addiction, mourns lost money
That was the turning point: The 19-year-old says he noticed he was losing control. But it was only when his account went negative that he realized it couldn’t continue like this.
How much did he lose? In one month, he should not have had more than 600 euros in debt, which was quite a lot for him as a student. Overall, the former addict lost 10,000 euros to gambling. He warns others emphatically:
For everyone who is on Twitch: Do not watch casino streams – it backfires! And if you can’t get out alone: Get help!
How is he doing now? A few months before writing the article, which was published on May 30, 2023, he stopped gambling. The first weeks were terrible; now he no longer feels the urge to gamble.
On Twitch, he says, he now only watches video games, he no longer follows casino streamers. Next year he wants to complete his business high school diploma. He only mourns the lost money.
Has anything changed on Twitch?
What does he say about the “gambling ban”? The “gambling ban” refers to the new guidelines that have been in effect on Twitch since October 2022; there is no real ban. The 19-year-old says that this is “complete nonsense.”
Certain sites, such as the controversial online casino Stake, may no longer be shown on Twitch, but according to the former addict, this only partially deters streamers: they would cover the site’s logo in the stream and cheerfully continue to share links to the sites via the instant messaging service Discord.
Some streamers have simply gone to another platform where gambling is less strictly regulated. The head of Twitch just recently spoke about the ban in an interview:
Twitch CEO explains the gambling ban: “Who verifies that the odds of winning are not manipulated?”
