What is the appeal of casino streamers?

The surge of streamers in the modern digital age has been nothing short of relentless. You can jump onto any video streaming site, such as YouTube or Twitch, and find people broadcasting about absolutely anything from video gaming to commentary on live sports matches and even casinos. There’s an endless world of streaming opportunities to explore out there.

But what is the appeal of casino streamers? Why is there an increasing demand to watch someone broadcasting their night of gambling at a land-based casino or live-streaming what they are doing on their computer at an online platform?

It is very different from a player themselves engaging with a live dealer on an online casino site, where participation is required. Just passively viewing other people playing is a vast separation from participating and lies more in the realm of voyeuristic entertainment. How did the appeal of casino streamers rise, and what keeps viewers coming back for more?

Increased popularity of online gambling

Casino streamers had to fight to be heard through the crowd of noise from the bottomless pool of streamers out there playing MMORPG games and esports¹.

The popularity of online gambling has exploded in the last couple of decades, and online casinos have been at the heart of that. From 1995 to 2023, there was a jump from R8 billion up to R815 billion² in total gambling turnover in South Africa, which is a staggering increase of ten thousand percent in the space of almost three decades. The South African gambling industry is estimated to be on course to hit a value of a trillion rand in 2024.

With a slightly smaller population than the UK, which has one of the largest gambling industries in the world, South Africa’s total gambling turnover is remarkably almost double that of the UK’s. This has led to an ever-increasing amount of online casino platforms that users can access, which vary in game portfolios and payment options.

There are endless lists of real money gambling sites that users can sign up with. Without the inherent demand for online gambling in the first place, the interest wouldn’t exist for streamers to tap into as much as they have. The growth of casino streaming has been all about the balance of supply and demand.

Accessibility to live-streaming

Another key element of the success and popularity of casino streamers is that streaming itself has become commonplace. Live broadcasts can be done from just about any social media site, as well as dedicated streaming platforms like Twitch³. As a result, it’s extremely accessible and doesn’t require a lot to set things up either. Just a good computer and a strong internet connection and away you go.

Recently, Twitch has been cracking down on their gambling content, and they have become notoriously strict regarding their gambling content. This has prompted more creators to move to the streaming platform Kick, which has the goal of maintaining less strict guidelines, and encourages the growth of online gambling streamers.

The culture of influencers

The culture of influencers is bigger than ever. The world is heavily populated by people who are looking to make a living from streaming, all trying to carve out valuable viewership space. It’s worked for many, with influencers becoming as recognizable today as movie and sports stars.

It seems only natural that online gambling would fall into the orbit of influencers as well, and it has. Individuals have leveraged their popularity on social media platforms to produce tailored content that has targeted niche areas like online gambling.

They shape and mould their content to make money from their followers through endorsements, selling merchandise and advertising. People actively look for influencers to follow and put their trust in them when it comes to recommendations. So, influencers act as middlemen between brands and consumers.

In this way, streams can prove to be quite impactful, influencing the viewers’ future gambling choices by recommending slot machines and platforms. Financial incentives automatically give streamers a greater drive to produce content, and the streams have the power to shape the public perception of online gambling.

What happens on a casino stream?

Imagine you have just visited your favourite online casino site. Then with a click of a button, you broadcast your entire playing session live to the world and invite people into a chat room to discuss what’s happening. That’s essentially all there is to a casino stream, it’s the host playing their favourite games, from slot machines to blackjack tables.

Some streams also come from live casinos, where the host is actively showing their viewers around a land-based establishment that they are gambling in. This provides viewers with the chance to see a real casino in action, and what gambling at one is like.

Taking that even further, MGM Resorts announced in 2024 that they will start broadcasting live casino games⁴ from two of their most famous Las Vegas casinos, the MGM Grand and Bellagio.

Viewing real life scenarios play out can be a great icebreaker for anyone with questions about casino etiquette before their first visit to one. Streamers can demonstrate how to find a table, how to get chips and how to cash out, along with their gameplay and interactions with dealers.

Gambling streamers have become a very intriguing phenomenon in recent years, but it’s not just about the host being entertaining. There must be value within the content that they provide, and this may be why these types of streams do so well.

What is the role of casino streamers?

On the surface of things, casino streamers play the role of entertainers more than anything. In order to retain and grow their viewership, they have to produce quality content that people want more and more of.

This involves offering a strong interactive experience and engaging with their viewers. In turn, this builds a community which feeds off the quality content and regularly returns to participate in the online social clique.

The appeal of casino streams

There are three essential pillars of a good casino stream, which come together to make up the bigger picture. These are entertainment, education and social interaction. The following is a look at why these are so important:

Entertainment

The primary function of a casino stream is to entertain⁵. Without that first key part, viewers are not going to be interested and will switch off quickly, looking for something more engaging. A lot of the entertainment factor on casino streams comes from the anticipation and suspense of whether wins will happen.

The excitement when they do, or when a streamer tries out a new game or breaks out of their usual strategy to try a bold move, can add to the excitement. Viewers need to stick around to see what the streamer will win or lose during a session, and that is the foundation of the entertainment.

However, the streamer’s charisma and character also play a big part in this. They aren’t likely to be very successful if they don’t explain what they are doing, ignore chat requests or sporadically talk about random things that have nothing to do with gambling.

Educational gambling insight

Casino streams can provide education to players, especially newcomers to gambling. Anytime you want to pick up a hobby, one of the first places you are likely to go is to a place like YouTube to watch educational videos about what the hobby involves and to learn about it.

Watching a live stream of casino play can offer the same in-depth education. The streamer can explain their thought process and strategy for their hands of blackjack, for example, giving viewers real insight into how to play.

Other things that hosts can explain on a casino stream are the game mechanics, technical terms and how to gamble responsibly. Setting up streams specifically to act as tutorials is another educational aspect that they can offer.

Social interaction

This is a fun part of a live casino stream. Social interaction through chat is what drives a successful stream. Streamers often read comments as they are playing, taking suggestions from followers about what game to play next, or having them set challenges, which can add to a greater sense of belonging.

People viewing the stream can chat and interact with each other as well, and over time there will probably be a lot of familiarity built up between users within the community, which will provide an even stronger foundation. Users can also chip in with their real-time analysis of what the streamer is doing and offer advice along the way.

In conclusion

Casino streamers seem to have emerged from the convergence of two major online influences, the rise of online gambling itself and the prominence of live streaming. These two worlds have collided in a way that has allowed people at their intersection to tap into something new and trendy, and they are making it work for them.

The South African online gambling industry is set to expand by roughly 6% from 2024 to 2029, so the demand continues to grow. The more demand that exists, the more opportunity there is for the appeal of casino streamers to grow alongside it as well.

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What is the appeal of casino streamers?

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