Twitch has confirmed the Rollbit sponsor of the StarLadder Budapest Major does not violate the website’s guidelines or terms of service, after concerns were raised by some in the CS2 community.
The StarLadder CS2 Major will feature gambling site Rollbit as its main sponsor, which sparked immediate questions about how the event will be handled on Twitch.
Rollbit is one of the gambling sites prohibited on the platform, and its inclusion as the tournament’s headline backer prompted concerns about whether the official broadcast or co-streams would face restrictions.
According to Twitch’s 2022 gambling update, sites including Rollbit, Stake, Duelbits, and Roobet are prohibited. The policy restricts streamers from broadcasting content from these sites or promoting them through links, affiliate codes, or on-stream banners. Rollbit is also listed under Twitch’s Prohibited Branded Content Categories.
This caused concern, especially for co-streamers, who feared it may not be possible to broadcast the event for fear of a community guidelines strike on their channels.
Twitch confirmed to Dexerto that the Rollbit sponsorship does not violate Twitch rules because its presence on the broadcast will be limited to physical branding.
Twitch said that the gambling rules apply specifically to direct promotion or linking, not to branding displayed on jerseys, stage signage, or other physical materials that appear during an event broadcast.
However, “verbally referring to the website on stream” is prohibited.
In a statement provided to Dexerto, Twitch said: “While the StarLadder CS Major will be streamed on Twitch, the Rollbit event sponsorship does not violate our Community Guidelines or Terms of Service, as the event and sponsor have agreed to limit the sponsorship during the stream to physical branding only.”
“As stated in our Community Guidelines, we specifically prohibit the sharing of links or affiliate codes to sites that contain slots, roulette, or dice games. While Rollbit is a prohibited site, that prohibition is specifically for streaming content directly from that site, linking to the site in chat, including a banner in stream that links to the site or verbally referring to the website on stream. As such, the sole use of physical branding does not violate these terms.”
This clarification means the official stream will proceed as planned, and authorized co-streamers will also be allowed to broadcast the event as long as they continue to follow Twitch’s gambling policies.
“The safety and wellbeing of our community is Twitch’s highest priority, which is why we carefully review gambling sponsorships to ensure adherence with our policies,” Twitch added.
The Major begins on November 24, and will be streamed on Twitch, Kick and YouTube.
