The gambling category “Slots” was huge on Twitch for 2 years, but the platform put a stop to it in October 2022, issuing new guidelines to curb the online casino Stake. The biggest German casino streamers, Scurrows and orangemorange, now seem to be struggling to stay relevant by any means.
What’s the deal with gambling on Twitch? For years, big German streamers successfully showcased gambling on the streaming platform. In September 2019, MontanaBlack became one of the most-watched streamers worldwide in the “Slots” category, playing virtual one-armed bandits.
When the legal situation around gambling on Twitch became too tricky for MontanaBlack and Knossi, they withdrew from gambling, making way for a new generation of casino streamers. Two of the biggest German-speaking casino streamers after them became Theo “Scurrows” Bottländer and Kevin “orangemorange” Bongers.
MontanaBlack critically reflects on the contribution he made to normalize gambling on Twitch:
The Rise and Fall of Gambling on Twitch
How did it go for the gambling streamers? The “Slots” category steadily gained viewers between 2018 and 2022. During this time, the notorious crypto-casino Stake played a crucial role. The casino apparently lured streamers with exceptionally attractive conditions for advertising deals, as US streamer Trainwrecks mentioned. He reportedly received 360 million USD over a period of 6 months for playing at the casino in front of thousands of viewers.
German Twitch streamers like Scurrows and orangemorange also apparently had lucrative deals with the casino, just like their big American counterparts.
The “deal with the devil” seemed extremely lucrative and also brought reach; the two made it into the top 50 of the largest German streamers in 2022 (via sullygnome). orangemorange even bragged about his wealth to a former classmate.
However, the success of gambling on Twitch also drew numerous critics.
This is how the gambling hype ended: In August 2022, the situation peaked: Slots ranked 8th among the most-watched categories on Twitch, averaging over 68,000 viewers. In the same month, there were altercations between gambling critic Tanzverbot and streamers orangemorange and Scurrows at gamescom.
In September, big American streamers finally called for a gambling ban on Twitch and threatened a boycott. The streaming platform ultimately issued new gambling guidelines that came into effect on October 18, 2022.
One of the most important changes was probably the ban on certain casino providers, including Stake. Many critics felt the restrictions did not go far enough, while gambling streamers complained that Amazon only wanted to push its own sites.
Nevertheless, the “Slots” category lost a massive number of streamers and viewers: currently, only an average of 16,600 people are watching (via sullygnome).
What consequences did the gambling streamers face? They switched in droves to the new streaming alternative Kick, to whose investors the owner of Stake belongs. On Kick, gambling is allowed and otherwise, they don’t seem to take many guidelines too seriously.
However, the old success seems to be missing so far. On Twitter, Scurrows and orangemorange are now struggling to remain relevant.
Streamers Don’t Miss a Controversial Topic
What are the streamers up to on Twitter? They provoke continuously. Looking at orangemorange and Scurrows’ Twitter posts between January 1 and October 18, 2022, things seem quite normal:
The two take some shots at gambling critics and mock the perceived ban on Twitch. orangemorange complains that people talk disparagingly about his girlfriend to hit him where it hurts, Scurrows asks for movie recommendations (via Twitter).
In recent weeks, however, a different picture has emerged: orangemorange and Scurrows seem to seize every opportunity to needle and provoke.
The success of Hogwarts Legacy was already on the rise at gamescom, but at the beginning of 2023, the discussion around the game gained real momentum.
Hogwarts Legacy and Cancel Culture
What topics are being discussed? In early February, there was a discussion in the German Twitch scene surrounding the popular streamer Gronkh.
He had seemingly not positioned himself clearly enough in the larger controversy surrounding Hogwarts Legacy, the new game in the “Harry Potter” universe, and J.K. Rowling, the author of the franchise.
A clip taken out of context circulated, in which Gronkh stated that J.K. Rowling was irrelevant to him.
Critics accused him of supporting transphobia, but his community and Harry Potter fans vehemently defended him.
How do orangemorange and Scurrows fit into this? They suddenly became the biggest fans of Hogwarts Legacy. While orangemorange had already tweeted about Harry Potter in the past, the topic had not been that prominent for Scurrows until now.
However, in February alone, Scurrows wrote more than half a dozen tweets about the subject: He gifted several friends the Deluxe Edition of Hogwarts Legacy to support J.K. Rowling, whom he highlights as a “super personality”.
The author is a victim of the “woke cancel culture”; criticism of the franchise from the “leftist bubble” is baseless and “absurd” (via Twitter).
Orangemorange also playfully chimed in. He raffled off 10 copies of Hogwarts Legacy, shared the success of the game, and combined it with a dig at one of the critics. He also advised people who felt harmed by Hogwarts Legacy to seek professional help.
Beyond the topic of the game, Scurrows has repeatedly commented on gender since December 2022: There are only 2 biological genders; everything else is misinformation (via Twitter).
Orangemorange, in turn, parodied the preferred pronouns of some individuals and “came out” as the “Hottest Man Alive” (via Twitter).
Scurrows Advocates for Andrew Tate
The other major topic for Scurrows is the former kickboxer Andrew Tate, who became infamously famous as an influencer.
Scurrows had already drawn attention at gamescom by chanting “Free Andrew Tate” because he had been banned from various platforms for misogynistic statements.
Since the arrest of the controversial influencer in late December, the streamer regularly advocates for him: The “Top G” is the innocent victim of political intrigues, has been convicted without evidence, and deserves immediate release (via Twitter).
All Just a Show?
What’s the point of all this? It seems that orangemorange and Scurrows have found a new niche, as gambling alone is simply not enough anymore: They play the villains of the hour. When a controversial topic occupies the German Twitch scene, you can be quite sure which side the two will be on.
The idea is not new: after all, there have always been “good” faces and heels in wrestling, who people love to hate. To what extent orangemorange and Scurrows play a role in this or truly stand behind their provocative takes remains unclear.
However, there is a noticeable temporal connection. The two gambling streamers seemingly dive headfirst into controversial topics since the new guidelines have caused viewer numbers on Twitch to decline.
Another factor may be that orangemorange was told quite clearly at the beginning of January that he does not really belong to the German streaming clique: He had received a cold rejection when he attempted to joke with a few Twitch colleagues.
Twitch: German casino streamer wants to belong – Gets rejected and mocked by colleagues
