twitch predictions

What Does Twitch Predictions Mean For Esports Betting?

Video streaming giant Twitch recently added a new feature, Twitch Predictions, to its platform. Predictions allows viewers to use points that are earned by watching a stream to place wagers on the platform and win more points.

This feature is still quite new to Twitch and is primarily offered to give streamers a different way to interact with their chat. Viewers earn points for watching and are able to place wagers on whatever the streamer chooses, then can earn more points, just like any normal bet.

Twitch hasn’t said much about the feature so far, but with it being an introduction to an integrated betting system, could it scale up to something much bigger and have an impact on esports betting?

What Are Twitch Channel Points And How Can You Bet With Them?

If you’re new to esports betting, or just Twitch in general, you might be wondering what all of this even means.

Well, it’s fairly simple. Twitch is a video streaming platform, where anyone can broadcast live videos of just about anything. It’s mostly focused on gaming, but you can find other things there too. When it comes to esports, Twitch is essentially the home of broadcasting – almost every notable event will be broadcast live on Twitch.

Meanwhile, channel points are like a virtual currency that technically don’t have any real-life value. Channel points are earned by watching a stream and are unique to each stream. The channel owner can then decide what the points can be redeemed for.

Streamers can also set up wagers for their users to participate in, which are most commonly simple moneylines, and they can be adjusted to almost anything, as long as it’s a Yes or No choice.

So far, no esports tournament organizers have made much use of this feature and the limitations of it when it comes to gambling are quite unclear. However, it is possible that it could lead to more in the future.

How Could Channel Point Wagering Affect Esports Betting?

While there hasn’t been any direct impact yet, there’s definitely a possibility that channel point wagering could have some big effects on esports betting.

First off, it could be used as a promotion for various esports betting websites. Most tournaments already have betting sponsors and it’s easy to see them possibly getting involved. For example, a website could set up a channel point bet that looks exactly like a real wager on a tournament, then advertise that you could have made a real bet and won real cash instead.

This would mostly lead to a more competitive market, which could mean more larger bookmakers getting involved, giving us a wider selection of websites to use for betting.

The biggest change, however, would be the introduction of full-blown betting on Twitch. It’s quite unlikely to happen, but this could be a trial for a bigger system, with Twitch eventually integrating betting. It would be the perfect place to do it as you could watch esports events live and place wagers without having to do as much as switching tabs. It would be convenient, quick and easy.

However, there are many rules and regulations regarding this, especially since Twitch is a global website and just about every country has different gambling rules. This would make it difficult for them to achieve, to say the least.

Overall, there is a huge spectrum of where things could go with the channel points betting system. It could stay as is and change nothing, build up to completely changing how we can bet on esports, and just about everything in between. It’s definitely worth keeping an eye on if you’re an avid esports bettor.

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