The Twitch channel of the website HLTV.org has become unavailable for users in the Russian Federation. Starting from April 4th, viewers from Russia are unable to watch the platform`s content on the streaming service.
When attempting to play live streams or clips from April 4th, users in Russia encounter a notification from Twitch. This message indicates that the video contains material related to games with an 18+ rating, profanity, depictions of violence, and gambling. It is believed that the gambling category is the primary cause for the channel`s ban for Russian viewers. Russia prohibits broadcasts related to gambling and casinos, and Twitch automatically hides these categories for viewers in the country. The likely reason for the restriction is advertising banners displayed during HLTV.org`s streams.
Previously, Twitch also restricted access to the channel of Alexander “VooDooSh” Shaltsinov for viewers in Russia during a poker stream. When trying to watch VooDooSh`s stream from Russia, users see a message stating: “VooDooSh`s content is intended for a specific audience. It may contain the following materials: gambling.”
Finley Holt