Return to DEFCON 5: Poker safe at Twitch

Brad Willis
Posted on: September 20, 2022 12:36 PDT

In an industry where even the slightest hint of trouble can turn into a calamity within hours, no one could be blamed for sounding the alarms during the Twitch Poker Scare of 2022. Nevertheless, within hours of a DEFCON 2-level alert, the poker streaming world found itself able to catch a breath.

The scare began Sunday with allegations of high-dollar scamming related to a reported $300,000 gambling debt. Twitch streamers announced planned protests over gambling-related Twitch streams. You can catch up in the tweets below.

It didn't take long for Twitch poker streamers to begin asking publicly: Does this mean us? Are they coming for us?

Twitch, for its part, did not let the early fear turn to full-blown panic. Late Tuesday, Twitch released a statement in which it promised a gambling policy update on October 18. In that statement Twitch clarified that regardless of what its October update may include regarding gambling streams, the new policy would not affect streamers who broadcast poker, fantasy sports, or sports betting.

As poker streamer Fintan Hand tweeted: "Guess we're safe for now."

You can read the full statement from Twitch below.