SUMMARY
- Twitch and Kick were previously banned in Turkey.
- The ban was placed due to the sites containing gambling elements.
Popular streaming platforms such as Twitch and Kick have been surrounded by controversies a lot lately because of sponsorships and streams that are connected to different gambling sites. This didn’t go well with the authorities in Turkey including the Turkish National Lottery Association.
The authorities were worried that Kick and similar streaming services may expose younger people to gambling and betting in the country. Social media forums also saw the emergence of claims on February 21, 2024, which stated that the popular streaming site Kick has been blocked in Turkey.
Twitch and Kick have been banned in Turkey, likely related to gambling content pic.twitter.com/sW4r0EBb5o
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) February 23, 2024
Turkish officials have said that “Kick’s entry into Turkey was to attract Turkish youth to roulette,” according to a report by journalist Ibrahim Haskologlu. The popular streaming site Twitch was also purportedly banned by the authorities in Turkey two days after Kick was banned. This is because the country considers gambling to be an offense.
Kick gets unbanned in Turkey
Following these websites’ alleged ban, a number of users started posting screenshots of error messages and pop-ups stating that the website was being restricted. However, it now looks like things might have changed for Kick.
According to a recent update by Ibrahim Haskologlu, it now seems that Turkey has lifted the restriction on the popular live-streaming platform Kick. The primary reason Turkey blocked access to the website was because it contained elements of gambling, which is against various state legislation.
The latest update comes after it was reported that the streaming service owned by Stake has completely eliminated elements of gaming from Turkey. Therefore, the removal of gambling-related content appears to have altered the authorities’ stand on the streaming platform.
Turkey has unbanned Kick while Twitch remains banned pic.twitter.com/X061xi8TFJ
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) February 26, 2024
Kick’s competitor on the other hand Twitch is still restricted in the country according to the latest update by Haskolorlu. This is because the Amazon-backed platform hasn’t taken any action to control a few of the betting games on the platform.
Considering that the website still offers some content related to gambling, it will remain to be seen how Twitch comes a take hold of the situation.
Other controversies surrounding Kick and Twitch
In recent times, Kick has seen unprecedented growth in its market share as it places more of an emphasis on larger income shares for its content creators and more lenient terms of service. This has become one of the main reasons for many popular streamers joining the platform.
This has, however, led the platform to be surrounded by a few controversies. Many streamers who were previously banned from Twitch have been signed by Kick, one example being Adin Ross. Adin Ross is known for using derogatory language against the LGBT community, inadvertently streaming adult movies, and engaging in gambling.
Therefore, a large section of people who oppose the rehabilitation of streamers who have made racist, sexist, and transphobic comments in the past are unhappy with how Kick operates.
Kick CEO admits Adin Ross is a “brand risk” to streaming platform after controversy pic.twitter.com/CcHxbInjyA
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) June 26, 2023
Twitch on the other hand is known to be more strict in the way the platform deals with these things. However, the Amazon-backed platforms have faced severe criticism due to its monetization policies where the platform takes a 50 percent cut from the streamer’s income.
The platform has also faced backlash from the community for banning streamers without giving any valid reasons, the likes of which include streamers like DrDisrespect.