‘Gamblification’ of video game streaming has become increasingly prominent, with many streamers offering gambling-style products to their viewers, as well as filming live real-money poker tournaments.

What is it?

In the latest edition of the Kahlil Philander webinar series, the host spoke to two experienced academics about the ‘gamblification’ of video streaming platforms.

Who is it?

Moderator – Kahlil Philander

Speaker – Brett Abarbanel, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Speaker – Mark Johnson, University of Sydney

What is being said?

Johnson began: “Twitch has a very open infrastructure for accepting new extensions and for this project we looked at just over 400 Twitch extensions which fell into these groups, and what we found was that amplification systems could be found in most of these groups. These are increasingly common techniques for trying to engage viewers more closely in twitch. 

“In essence, we found five key themes here – the first was that some of these extensions fit most of the ways we would think about ‘gambling’, but instead hold social rather than financial outcomes so if you ‘win’ you win the option to choose what game they play next rather than money.

“The second was that lots of these extensions allow you to predict what might take place next in the stream, and many Twitch channels have their own currencies now with which people can ‘gamble’. The third of these is that some of these systems meet most of the legal components of a gamble, but parts of this gamble are assigned to different people within that stream.”

Continuing, he outlined how the fourth theme was the presence of raffles and lastly, identified the use of terms such as ‘addictive’, which is an acceptable term to use in the context of gaming, but not in the context of gambling.

“These sorts of extension tools serve a specific purpose – they engage the person who’s watching you and create content – the whole idea is content creation,” Abarbanel added.

“Something you can provide that will keep you entertained, like a mini game or a raffle, it’s something that you’ve just provided – even if its advertisement – these are the kinds of things that build those gaps.”

Why should I watch it?

To hear the insights of experienced academics and specialists on video game streaming discuss the ‘gamblification’ of the sector and the forms it takes.

Where can I see more?

Source – Kahlil Philander YouTube Channel