A number of Twitch streamers from the Middle East have allegedly been unable to cash out from the site and have gotten similar responses when they tried to contact support.
On February 19, the hashtag #Twitch_arab_streamers started trending on Twitter, with Middle Eastern streamers all sharing one common issue: allegedly not being able to collect payment from the site.
Multiple streamers said they had all contacted Twitch about the issue, and each time the site said it was due to “a discrepancy with certain tax information provided during the onboarding process.”
Twitch streamers beg site to let them cash out
It’s unfair that twitch banned middle East streamers from receiving payment for the subscription and Bits Without any reason and without any excuse This is unfair.. #twitch_arab_streamers pic.twitter.com/mDA62IcJ6h
— OSAMAH | اسامه (@iOSAMAA6) February 19, 2022
Streamer POWR OSAMAH said it was “unfair” Twitch seems to have only singled out Middle Eastern streamers from receiving payment from Bits and subs.
“Twitch please, listen, I don’t have a job, Twitch is my job,” OSAMAH said. “If you take my money, I will be homeless, you know that?”
Why exactly all of these streamers may have been cut off remains unknown, but a large amount have been left unable to collect this month.
Almost everyone posting under the hashtag claimed to have received basically the same message from Twitch about it being a tax “discrepancy” as well.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
@TwitchSupport @Twitch My Twitch account and many Arab Twitch streamers accounts were blocked from receiving payouts this month. The only explanation provided from Twitch support was "discrepancy with certain tax information".#twitch_arab_streamers
— NecTronN |المْدَرعم (@nectron90) February 19, 2022
blocking one or two individuals due to Tax information discrepancy is understandable but blocking a hall community is sus if you ask me since all our Tax information is legit and we have been receiving money since the beginning. Twitch didn’t notify us#Twitch_Arab_Streamers pic.twitter.com/iezqg7yfOd
— ohmyTalal ⚠️ (@ohmyTalal) February 19, 2022
And all of a sudden Twitch decided to block my account from receiving payouts after all the hard work I did. This specific payment is my only hope for getting myself a gaming PC as I am unemployed. #twitch_arab_streamers@Twitch @TwitchSupport pic.twitter.com/iOvpmTHWLV
— JSoul 命 (@j_soul13) February 19, 2022
Twitch hasn’t commented on the situation at the time of writing, with no mention of the issue appearing on any of the site’s socials.
Dexerto has reached out to Twitch about the issue, and will update this piece if or when we receive a response.
One or two streamers being unable to receive payment could be chalked up to a glitch or hiccup, but an entire region being frozen out could indicate a bigger issue.
