Twitch To Ban Gambling Sites After Streamers Threatened To Strike

Paddleton (2019)














Tennis-playing buddies Michael (Mark Duplass) and Andy (Ray Romano) receive devastating news: Michael has terminal stomach cancer. Struggling to let go of his dying friend, Andy joins Michael's road trip in search of medication to end things before they get too painful. Folding comedy into melancholy, Paddleton eases the touching friendship at its core into deftly-affecting places.

I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020)














A psychological thriller that dives deep into the surreal. I'm Thinking of Ending Things definitely won't be for http://101ажF0B.xn--p1ai/user/galleyquail0/ everyone, but it connects you to the frustrations of the young woman (Jessie Buckley) at its heart, who grapples with breaking off her seven-week-relationship with her boyfriend Jake (Jesse Plemons). While it overstays its welcome a little, I'm Thinking of Ending Things always keeps you on your toes, with atmospheric cinematography and strong performances from Toni Collette and David Thewlis as Jake's fairly odd parents. Fans of director-writer Charlie Kaufman will be pleased.

"Gambling content on Twitch has been a big topic of discussion in the community, and something we've been actively reviewing since our last policy update in this area," Twitch said. "While we prohibit sharing links or referral codes to all sites that include slots, roulette or dice games, we've seen some people circumvent those rules and expose our community to potential harm."

The proposal comes as Burgum has worked to improve state-tribal relations that have been especially strained since he took office in 2016 in the midst of prolonged protests and hundreds of arrests during the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline that passes beneath the Missouri River near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. The tribe draws its water from the Missouri and fears pollution.

Burgum in 2017 signed legislation that approved the electronic pull tab machines, despite opposition from tribes that warned the Las Vegas-style games would lure gamblers away from the state´s tribal-owned casinos.

In a statement, Twitch said it would no longer allow the "streaming of gambling sites that include slots, roulette, or dice games." That list of sites is currently limited to Stake.com, Rollbit.com, Duelbits.com and Roobet.com but could expand as Twitch continues to investigate. The ban is set to go into effect on Oct. 18. 

The tribes argue their casinos have been hurt by the explosion of electronic pull tab machines statewide after they were legalized in 2017, with North Dakotans pouring almost $1.75 billion into the machines in fiscal 2022.

The Platform (2019)














From Netflix's impressive stash of international films comes Spanish sci-fi horror The Platform. Its high-concept story centers on a tower that delivers food to people on each of its many levels via a platform. Those at the top snag the best and most abundant spread, which is devoured as the platform lowers down the levels. Social commentary rings throughout this dystopian thriller, which takes shocking, occasionally gruesome turns all the way to the bottom.

Gambling has long been an issue on Twitch. Many streamers openly promote gambling sites to their young audiences. Earlier this week, a streamer named Sliker admitted to scamming over $200,000 to fund a gambling addiction that began with Sliker using Counter-Strike "skins" to place bets. Since skins -- in-game outfits, essentially -- have monetary value, many third-party sites allow users to place bets on professional Counter Strike matches using these skins.

Twitch said Tuesday it will remove high-profile gambling sites from the Amazon-owned streaming platform after a number of high-profile streamers like Pokimane, Mizkif and Devin Nash threatened a boycott of Twitch during peak traffic periods.

A similar compact between Florida and the Seminole Tribe is tied up in federal court after a judge in November found the multibillion-dollar agreement between the state and tribe allowing online betting violated a federal rule that requires a person to be physically on tribal land when wagering.

Americans have bet more than $125 billion on sports with legal gambling outlets in the four years since the U.S. Supreme Court´s 2018 decision that lifted a federal ban on sports gambling, clearing the way for all 50 states to offer it.

Antar is a convicted fraudster who faces the prospect of additional prison time in November for a scheme in which he cheated friends and relatives of money he used to feed his compulsive gambling habit.

Happy as Lazzaro (2018)














This Italian film has the seal of approval from Bong Joon-ho, so let's listen to the Oscar-winning director of Parasite and add it to this list. Written and directed by Alice Rohrwacher, Happy as Lazzaro is set in the '70s on a tobacco farm, where good-hearted young peasant Lazzaro dutifully works. When a nobleman convinces him to help him fake his own kidnapping, a story of friendship, innocence and social commentary unfolds. A gorgeously shot, cinematic fairytale.