YouTube Punishing Poker Vloggers and Streamers

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Are YouTube poker channels being unfairly targeted? The video sharing platform removed numerous poker videos recently, and it’s all a big mystery to some content creators as to why.

Jaime Staples has a popular YouTube poker channel with over 73,000 subscribers. He is one of the many punished content creators. But he certainly isn’t going to just sit back and watch his channel fizzle. The former Partypoker pro is fighting back. And he’s also trying to help his peers.

Staples offered up on Twitter to collect information from every poker player who feels they’ve been targeted, put that information into a spreadsheet, and send it off to a contact at YouTube.

YouTube Poker Channels in Trouble, But Why?

Many YouTubers earn a full-time income creating videos. In the poker niche, there aren’t many getting rich off YouTube ads. But vloggers such as Andrew Neeme and Brad Owen earn decent income through their popular YouTube poker channels. And others — Jeff Boski, Jaime Staples, Marle Cordeiro, just to name a few — also generate revenue from the video sharing platform.

So, when YouTube bans some of their content, they take a hit financially. The YouTube gambling content rules are pretty straightforward. YouTubers such as Owen and Staples are also unsure why they’re being punished.

Per YouTube’s terms and conditions, the company supports “responsible gambling advertising.” Content creators are allowed to post gambling-related ads so long as they comply with the following policies.

What Can They Do About It?

YouTube guidelines state that “gambling ads must target approved countries, have a landing page that displays information about responsible gambling, and never target minors.” We have yet to find rules violations in any videos from Owen, Staples, Neeme, or any of the other top vloggers, streamers, and poker content producers. But they’re still being punished.

The most likely reason for videos being removed is due to a recent YouTube algorithm change. This has happened in the past where gambling-related videos are removed following an algorithm update. Once YouTube investigates, the videos that didn’t actually violate the terms and conditions are typically reinstated.

Brian Christopher, a popular slot machine vlogger, knows what it’s like to enter YouTube jail. In 2018, his channel of over 1,100 videos, was suspended due to supposed rules violations. The account was eventually reinstated and his channel is back to normal. So, perhaps, the YouTube poker community will soon have the same positive outcome.