Earlier this week, the streaming platform Kick strengthened its KYC processes, mandating ID verification for users watching streams rated over 18, such as betting content.

On the latest episode of iGaming Daily, Joe Streeter was joined by Danny Lee, Senior Journalist for SlotBeats, and SBC’s Multimedia Editor, James Ross, to discuss the decision and examine the backlash to it from streamers.

James began by explaining that Kick was originally founded in response to a change by Twitch in 2022 which prohibited the promotion of unlicensed operators.

As such, according to James, the last two years on Kick have been an “absolute wild west of content creation with no rules”. This has seen some “massively irresponsible” activity, he says.

On the new regulations, Danny said: “Bringing in KYC, you’re bound to reduce the amount of people gaining access to the content that they shouldn’t be gaining access to. 

“Streamers need to understand that if you’re doing gambling streams then you’re part of an industry that can [potentially] cause quite serious harm to the people that are exposed to it, especially people that are too young.”

As mentioned, the news was met with a negative reaction from a number of streamers who use the platform who claim that this will impact their viewership.

Furthermore, Kick is backed by the founders of the online betting and casino site Stake and streamer Xposed hit out at the company on X, claiming that Kick is seeking to control their website and promote Stake.

Responding to these claims, James said: “You might lose viewers on your slot streams but be realistic, those viewers weren’t good viewers anyway, you shouldn’t have had those viewers in the first place. It’s quite idiotic to think that you should have those viewers.

“There’s no reason why these streamers shouldn’t be against young people being exposed to content that will be harmful to them and could convince them to make decisions and try and access these websites themselves.”

Both Danny and James also emphasised the need for greater education among streamers regarding the player protection implications of what they are doing to help them understand why the changes are an important step.

Rounding off the episode, the trio considered the future of streaming and how it will shape the igaming industry in the next five years.

James suggested that there will be a greater influx of streamers contributing more to the igaming space by having their own studios and games – in a similar vein to the collaboration between Fruity Slots and Hideous Slots to create DreamSpin.

“James is right, I think we’re going to see so many more new games or different partnerships between streamers and either operators or suppliers,” agreed Danny.

“We’ve already seen the growth of live spins in the past year and a half and how they are getting integrated into more and more operator lobbies and how streaming is definitely being appreciated so much more.

“Every few months we’re seeing different developments and you can just see it continuing. Streaming is so huge at the minute, you can’t scroll through Twitter or Instagram without seeing clips from different streamers and they’re getting such a huge consistent viewership that it’s bound to keep being capitalised on.”