An interesting choice
Due to its recent ban on unregulated slots content, Twitch’s supposed choice for the location of its annual convention in 2023 has raised a few eyebrows. According to a leak by one of its partners on Twitter, TwitchCon is set for the bright lights of Las Vegas.
adamant in his disapproval of the slots ban
Perhaps predictably, ousted gambling streamer Trainwreck was one of the first to comment on the news. The 32-year-old secured many of his 2.1 million followers through gambling on Twitch and has been adamant in his disapproval of the slots ban ever since its introduction in October last year.
He took to Twitter Monday evening to hint at the hypocrisy of hosting the event in Las Vegas, given the platform’s supposed distaste for gambling content:
Like a lot of Twitch’s high-profile slot streamers, Trainwreck was forced to cease making a large portion of his content last year when the platform banned his slots partner Stake, among other sites.
Real or fake?
News of the supposed location for TwitchCon Las Vegas first broke on Twitter Monday evening. Twitch partner and social media influencer Smirky shared a link to Passkey which revealed the TwitchCon date of October 20-22, 2023 and the location of Las Vegas:
The tweet caused ‘Twitchcon in Vegas’ to begin trending on the social media platform. One streamer called Swiftor confirmed that he had even booked a refundable hotel room in advance just in case the information proved correct.
Twitch has not released a comment
However, it’s still not entirely clear whether the information is accurate. Twitch has not released a comment to confirm or deny the rumors. Added to this, when Smirky clicked the same Passkey link later that evening, the event name and dates changed.
Trainwreck is not alone
While there might not be any clear evidence to actually confirm TwitchCon Las Vegas 2023, it hasn’t stopped certain streamers joining Trainwreck in voicing their disapproval. In response to his tweet Monday night, one streamer called Macaiyla deemed the location “unfathomable:”
Referencing the high-profile streamers who called for the slot content ban, another user called zach, said: “Some familiar faces gonna have no problems with it now.” In a similar vein, aaron ramirez jokingly affirmed Train that “the good guys on twitch will surely boycott this event, like they did with stakes slots on Twitch.”
In response to the original post from Smirky, one user also noted that the location choice could have another negative effect. “Tons of creators are under 21, and their fans are too,” BuckleysPants explained. “There were a lot of people from the Minecraft fanbase at Twitchcon 2022. I think it would negatively impact attendance towards a large group of people.”