It's no secret that the YouTube platform has grown increasingly hostile towards poker content creators in recent years. Whether you're a Brad Owen or an Andrew Neeme operating at the top of the creator pyramid or a newcomer to the scene looking to make a splash and build your community, the frequent age-restrictions and strikes on videos make steady growth difficult.
Already, we've seen several big names in the space speak out on their own struggles with YouTube, especially when it comes to the platform's support system. Owen, Daniel Negreanu, and Hristivoje ‘All In Pav’ Pavlovic have all sounded the alarm about the toxic and entirely unhelpful nature of the YouTube support system.
CoinPoker Ambassador and Raise Your Edge training site founder Benjamin 'bencb' Rolle might have the antidote: the legal system.
'They don't care about your YouTube channel'
In a long-winded response (linked below) to Hungry Horse Poker founder Marc Goone's cry for YouTube help, Rolle shared his own struggles with age restrictions and strikes on his various YouTube channels – and the inevitable frustration that comes with attempting to elicit a meaningful response from the platform's support team.
"It is a waste of time," he wrote. "BUT working with law firms has done the job for us. Our FaceBook page has been restored; IG [Instagram] restrictions have been lifted. And we intend to do the same with YouTube.
"There are law firms that are specialised in dealing with this matter. And until these Social Media companies have a letter from a lawyer on their table, they won't care. They don't care about your YouTube Channel and your hard work."
Rolle went on to explain that the financial burden of seeking legal support in writing letters to the sites isn't "that expensive," and in the current environment for content creators "it is almost an unavoidable cost."
It took a few months for FaceBook and Instagram to respond to Rolle's inquiries, but, eventually, both sites "noticed and took action," seemingly based on legal correspondence alone.
While taking further legal action would no doubt bring added expenses, Rolle hasn't had to face that particular decision yet.
"For us, it always worked when our law firm sent letters to those companies," he shared.
In conclusion, Rolle made clear his motivations in sharing this new hard-nosed approach.
"I also believe that's the only way for YouTube to take the whole Poker Industry more seriously: if they see more creators taking serious action rather than just wasting their time with automated support."
Featured image courtesy of CoinPoker
