Both live-streaming platforms have been banned in Turkey by the country’s National Lottery Association over gambling issues.
The Turkish government has banned Twitch and Kick over gambling content concerns. A few days ago, the Information and Communication Technologies Authority(ICTA) issued a nationwide ban on Kick. The authority was under the impression that Kick would influence the youth of the country to play roulette and promote gambling.
After broadcasters on Kick pointed out similar content being streamed on the Twitch platform, the ICTA launched an investigation into the platform. Two days after the nationwide ban on Kick, the government also banned Twitch, and that access to the site would be cut off. The decision angered the Twitch community in Turkey, mainly because viewers and some content creators had strong feelings against gambling content for a long time.
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Turkey Banned Twitch and Kick Nationwide
In February 2024, Turkish journalist Ibrahim HaskoloÄŸlu first reported the ICTA’s concerns over Kick’s operations within the country. According to the officials, Kick was not just a platform for streaming but a Trojan horse for international gambling companies to target the youth in Turkey. The ICTA launched the investigation on February 13, 2024, and properly inspected the platform’s associations and content.
On February 21, HaskoloÄŸlu confirmed that the government of Turkey had issued a nationwide ban on Kick, shocking content creators and viewers across the country.
After Kick was banned within the country, the viewers and content creators of the website raised an issue that the Amazon-owned platform Twitch also broadcasted similar content. The Information and Communication Technologies Authority of Turkey launched another investigation on Twitch after taking in the problems from the Kick community.
Two days after Kick got banned in the country, the ICTA issued a ban on Twitch and announced that access to the website would be closed within 24 hours. Journalist Ibrahim HaskoloÄŸlu tweeted the information from BTK’s website, which stated that the General Directorate of National Lottery Administration decided to block Twitch in the country.
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