Gambling engagement mechanisms in Twitch live streaming

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the ongoing gamblification of engagement mechanisms on the live streaming website Twitch.tv (Twitch). Twitch is the market-leading platform for live broadcast of digital games and digital gambling, with two million content creators reaching around one hundred and fifty million viewers per month. Streamers use a variety of monetization techniques to encourage fan engagement while generating revenue: this includes incorporating chance-based elements and unpredictable rewards, part of the ongoing broader convergence of gambling and gaming products. The primary research objective for this study is to investigate the chance-based mechanics in these stream interaction and engagement services, how they work, and how these mechanics fit within elements of traditional legal definitions of gambling: consideration, chance, and prize. Understanding how game spectators engage with streamers helps establish a foundation for understanding how emerging forms of media engagement fit within a policy landscape that might not be designed for technology-driven gambling and gaming consumption. The themes that emerge here have important implications for streamers who monetize, stream extension developers who operate in spaces where certain game mechanics may fall into gambling or other consumer protection oversight, and regulatory authorities who maintain that oversight.

KEYWORDS:

• Gambling
• gaming
• live streaming
• Twitch
• viewer engagement
• gamblification
• monetization
• chance

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1. Although we cannot independently verify this claim, it is interesting in its own right as a marketing discourse.

2. The authors are aware of research in progress on dramatic moments and how different forms of game play generate that drama, but such research is unpublished at the time of this writing. Future research in this space should engage the subject.

Additional information

Funding

There are no funding sources directly related to the development of this work. Dr. Abarbanel received funding (2014–2019) from the Manitoba Gambling Research Program, GP Consulting, U.S.-Japan Business Council, Wynn Las Vegas, Victoria Responsible Gambling Foundation, Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, Bermuda Casino Gambling Commission, the States of Nevada and California, Canadian Partnership for Responsible Gambling, iDevelopment and Economic Association, GLG Consulting, Majestic Star Casinos, MGM Resorts International, ProPress Germany, and Caesars Entertainment. Dr. Abarbanel has received reimbursement for travel from Association Cluster Sport International, Kansspelautoriteit, Gamification Group (Finland), British Columbia Lottery Corporation, International Association of Gaming Advisors, GambleAware, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Ultimate Media Ventures, Canadian Partnership for Responsible Gambling, IGT Latin America, University of Salford, and National Collegiate Athletic Association (USA). During the time period, Dr. Abarbanel was a member of the Singapore National Council on Problem Gambling International Advisory Panel, for which she was reimbursed for her time. Dr. Johnson received funding (2017-2019) from Gambling Research Exchange Ontario and Alberta Health Services for an independent research project, and has received travel reimbursement from the Alberta Gambling Research Institute and GambleAware UK.

Notes on contributors

Brett Abarbanel

Brett Abarbanel is Director of Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, International Gaming Institute, with a research affiliate appointment at the University of Sydney Gambling Treatment and Research Clinic. Dr. Abarbanel’s research covers Internet gambling policy and behavior, esports and gambling, operations and technology use, and responsible gambling and community relations. Dr. Abarbanel is the co-executive editor of the UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal and editorial board member at International Gambling Studies and Harvard’s Division on Addiction’s Brief Addiction Science Information Source. Dr. Abarbanel recently completed a term on the International Advisory Panel for Singapore’s National Council on Problem Gambling. She is a founding director of the Nevada Esports Alliance, which promotes development of best practices at the intersection of the esports and regulated gambling industries.

Mark R. Johnson

Mark R. Johnson is a Lecturer in Digital Cultures in the Department of Media and Communications at the University of Sydney. His research focuses on live streaming and Twitch.tv, esports, game consumption and production, and gamification and gamblification. He has published in journals including ‘Information, Communication and Society’, ‘New Media and Society’, ‘The Sociological Review’, ‘Convergence’, ‘Games and Culture’, and the ‘Journal of Virtual Worlds Research’. His first monograph ‘The Unpredictability of Gameplay’, a critical Deleuzean examination of luck, chance and randomness in game design and their impacts on video game cultures, was recently published by Bloomsbury Academic. Outside academia he is also an independent game designer, a regular games blogger and podcaster, a freelance writer for numerous gaming publications, and a former professional poker player.