Live Gambling Stirs Up Conflict in the Streaming Community

Monetising online activities is a popular career choice among modern entrepreneurs. Through streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube, savvy users have many avenues to choose from. Although gambling streamers are one of the newer categories, some have accomplished a lot by live-streaming their wagering activities in the past few years.

The ever-popular Twitch streamer, Trainwreckstv, once again fell prey to the fiery accusations from a fellow platform streamer, chocoTaco. Triggered by a lavish birthday gift from the slot streamer to one of his fellow CS:GO streamers, Trainwreck stood accused of villainous acts.

Of late, gambling streams faced a list of limitations on Twitch, barring streamers from advertising sponsorships on the site.

 A Twitter Twitch Spat

Trainwreck is one of the top slot streamers on Twitch with a whopping 1.9 million followers and often shares how he spends his stupendous earnings. In a recent live stream, he spoiled a fellow streamer, Get-RighT, with a rare gift worth approximately €14,000 ($15,000) and Esports journalist Jake Lucky posted the event on Twitter.

This triggered a response from gaming streamer, chocoTaco, who accused Trainwreck of disguising his bad intentions with gifts and charity sponsorships.

The streamer quoted Star Trek in response to the news of the expensive gift, commenting:

“Picard said it best: ‘Villains who twirl their moustaches are easy to spot. Those who clothe themselves in good deeds are well camouflaged.’”

ChocoTaco’s insult triggered a slew of responses from Trainwreck, his followers, and other Twitch streamers. Some accused the gaming streamer of attempting to win popularity and making headlines through his attacks, as many smaller streamers have done before.

Trainwreck slammed the comment from the accuser, stating that chocoTaco drew a conclusion about him without knowing Trainwreck personally. Although community members sided with chocoTaco, fellow streamers slammed him for being unreasonable.

 Opposition Comes to Trainwreck’s Aid

Many streamers speak out against casino streaming and criticise the genre for exploiting vulnerable viewers. The conflict drew the attention of Asmongold, who has condemned casino streamers for selling out to casino sponsorships. Ironically, Asmongold sided with Trainwreck.

Asmongold reprimanded chocoTaco for his attacks aimed at Trainwreck. The anti-gambling streamer commented that chocoTaco was in the wrong and warned him of being a hypocrite himself. Other anti-gambling streamers from the platform jumped on the bandwagon when the accuser claimed to become the victim of harassment, following his scathing remark on Trainwreck’s spending habits.

Once chocoTaco tried to turn the table by claiming that Trainwreck fans were harassing him, streamer Nmplol joined the dialogue by accusing chocoTaco of using the event as a publicity stunt. Nmplol said the streamer tried to draw attention to himself by taking on a bigger, more famous streamer. Before the incident, chocoTaco boasted a following of over 1,2 million on Twitch.

 Gambling Streamers Attacked by Peers

Casino and slot streamers have been at the receiving end of countless accusations from fellow streamers, and Twitch has specific rules that only apply to casino and slot streamers. Many feel the nature of the live streams and the amount of money spent enables those at risk of addiction.

Two of the individuals who make headlines in this regard are Trainwreckstv and xQc. Both are self-proclaimed gambling addicts and yet gamble for a living. These streamers make millions from gambling sponsorships, and their peers criticise the partnerships as controversial and irresponsible.

Twitch prohibits gambling streamers from promoting any brand in their streams, and xQc and Trainwreck tell their viewers to stay away from gambling.