Casino Streamers – Another Advertising Scourge

If you’ve ever been affected by compulsive gambling, then the chances are that you will have run out of money at some point. Whether that was a temporary cash flow problem or more permanent, there’s little doubt that your cash crisis would have left you wanting more and nowhere to turn to get any sort of gambling kick. This is where a casino streamer might fill the void, and some may even watch the streams in a bid to quit gambling. But who are they and why are they so popular?

The Streamer’s popularity explosion

Casino streamers have been around for several years and many of the more successful channels are based in the UK. However, casino streaming isn’t unique to the UK  and there are many channels run by gamblers all over the world. Average subscriptions to these channels are upwards of 65,000 and the most popular streamers often bet ridiculous sums of money. This obviously adds to the drama, and from reading the comments of the Youtube videos, it’s clear that in the majority of cases their viewers are supportive of the streamer and are rooting for them to win. There is a smaller percentage delighting in the streamer’s losses but either way they’re engaging with their audience.

Are Casino Streamers Real?

If you look hard enough through the comments of these YouTube videos, you will see many claims of fakery, many denials, and many ongoing arguments trying to prove in favour of one side or another. I can answer the question. Yes they’re real. Real people gambling with real money which is either won or lost during the video. Many streamers go to great lengths to prove what they are doing is real in order to silence their critics. Whilst researching this post, I saw one video where the streamer was in profit over a set period of £250,000. The amount he had gambled during that period was closer to £2 million.

However, streamers will often post videos of substantial losses to prove they are transparent. A lot of the time they will do so under the guise of ‘don’t try this at home.’ Streamers will often present themselves as having a degree of social responsibility, which is hypocritical given how they profit from gambling. The streamer mentioned above, recently declared losses of £120,000 in one session and showed his casino account to prove it. This won’t convince 100% of the doubters and it may just leave the average gambler wondering how they do it. Well if you don’t already know the answer to this, then I wouldn’t bother researching it as I’ll explain.

A Very Dubious Income Stream

The money being wagered by a casino streamer is real, and so too are their winnings. However, what the vast majority of casino streamers won’t tell you is that their losses are not. Yes, they will lose in the sense that their video or stream may end with them losing thousands, but the actual loss has already been made prior to the stream. So how is this possible?

The answer lies simply with affiliate marketing. With regular audiences in the region of 65k, the casino streamer has a very lucrative revenue stream at his disposal. And here’s the thing- once he has you, he owns you without you even knowing it! So how does this work in practice?

Casino Streamer’s & Affiliate Marketing

If you’ve ever bought a product online by clicking a link, then it’s highly likely you’ve clicked on an affiliate. The website selling the product will know which site you’ve just come from and will pay that relevant site a commission if you go on to buy their product. This is by no means shady in practice in today’s world as it means everyone wins. The link you clicked on may have contained a discount code so you won’t have paid any more. In fact, it’s likely you have saved money on the product. The website you order from wins as it has you as a customer, and the referral website wins by taking a small cut too.

Based on that premise, you may ask yourself what the problem is with affiliation when it comes to gambling websites. Well the key difference is that the affiliate who drove you there will continue to profit from you for life. Ultimately it makes no difference to you as all this happens in the background. However, not only is a greedy gambling company profiting from you but when you click on an affiliate link, you’re also making someone else a very tidy sum from your misery. Doesn’t quite sit right, does it?

Casino streamers will often have websites littered with sign up bonuses for various casinos and will actively encourage you to visit them during their videos. Some will even offer competitions to win money. However, these so-called competitions are a smoke screen for what is actually happening and will depend on you clicking their affiliate link to enter. The result makes the affiliate a considerable amount of money.

Affiliate Earnings

Affiliate earnings for any product can differ vastly and are calculated under different models. However, a typical casino streamer will operate on a Revenue share scheme. Revenue share schemes provide the affiliate with a percentage of your deposits…For life! This percentage could be between 15 and 50%. Clearly this can translate to huge incomes especially in cases where the gamblers they attract are big spenders.

Conclusion

I decided to write this blog based on the welcome news from the Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) that most gambling operators will cease to advertise on TV or radio during the lockdown. However, a constant source of questionable advertising is still being provided online. With the explosion in popularity of the casino streamer, many millions are still being made on the back of a compulsive gambler’s misery; whilst big gambling companies get a very targeted audience to advertise to. It’s high time we look at regulation across the board and look online to where more gamblers than ever are being drawn. We must also include casino streamers in this where they join the morally bankrupt gambling operators continuing to operate with impunity.

Have you ever used casino streamers when you couldn’t gamble yourself? Did they help stave off cravings or make you more inclined to gamble as a result of watching? Let me know in the comments or community.

You find out more about my gambling story here and can learn more about the aims of Quit The Casino, here.