Gambling streams have been running rampant on Twitch, but Imane ‘Pokimane’ Anys declared she never has and never will gamble on the platform, even though it’s seen her miss out on “money and sponsorships.”
Twitch has hosted gambling streams for many years now, including poker professional tournaments and other large-scale events. It even has dedicated categories for them, which have been there for more than a decade.
However, it’s become a hot topic in recent weeks after the popularity of gambling has exploded among top streamers as a part of the “gambling stream meta.”
Some streamers like Charles ‘MoistCr1TiKaL’ White claim it’s a “dangerous” trend, while others like Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel don’t think it’s a big deal.
Pokimane weighed in on the issue, and although she doesn’t think it’s inherently wrong for other streamers to do it, she revealed that she made a vow to never do it herself, even at the expense of missed opportunities.
“I personally have always had such a guilty conscience that from the get-go when I started streaming, I [crossed] out the categories of gambling, of [drinking] alcohol, [and doing] drugs, obviously,” she said.
However, to uphold her principles, she had to turn her back on “a lot of money and a lot of sponsorships.”
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She has no regrets though because she can “sleep easy at night” knowing that people aren’t getting themselves into “unfortunate or shitty situations” because of her streams.
In the end, though, she concluded it’s not the “fault or responsibility of any streamer” to make the same commitment and believes it’s “the kind of thing that you need to decide for yourself.” And she’s comfortable with her decision.
Pokimane’s stance is less heated than others. Ultimately, she believes streamers can do what they want, as long as it’s within the rules.
But that doesn’t mean you’ll see her cashing in on the trend. She’s knocked back offers in the past and claimed she would do it again and again.
