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Streamers Black Friday? YouTube has deleted hundreds of poker videos
This month YouTube removed hundreds of videos from several well-known poker video bloggers. In this article, we analyze the situation, and the most important, what should streamers do to avoid sanctions in the future.
Who were the victims of the first YouTube strike against poker videos?
The first victim of the largest video hosting services was Jaime Staples, who just a month ago signed with the partypoker Team Online. Of course, it's possible that YouTube removed videos from less-famous players before, but Jaime's situation brought the issue to light.
First, he noticed the disappearance of two videos: The first one was about a weight-loss prop-bet and the second one about a PokerStars Championship ticket. And just a few days later, 150 videos were missing! Also, the player received a warning ("strike") from YouTube for breaking their rules.
After that, Derek Gomez and Evan Jarvis saw their videos disappear too. The last one even decided to move all the WSOP 50th Edition coverage to Twitch. Of course, all three players were shocked because the reasons were not very clear, and some of the videos had millions of views. Therefore they are going mad on trying to get them back online.
Why did YouTube suddenly start deleting poker videos?
At first, YouTube sent only standard replies to the players, but thanks to a massive campaign of Jaime Staples with YouTube representatives, the real reason was exposed — they were being charged with "Sale of Illegal or Regulated Goods" due to the presence of direct links to poker rooms in the videos. According to YouTube, this was a flagrant violation of the terms and conditions:
"What this means for you. If you're posting content, don't post content on YouTube if it aims to sell directly any of the items listed below or links to sites that sell these items"
On the one hand, the first line seems to be related to the eternal question if poker is a game of skill or chance (however, hundreds of casino videos are still available on YouTube). On the other hand, even if YouTube recognizes poker as a game of skill, most likely, the situation will remain the same. Almost all poker rooms have added casino games to their offer, although with the same click, users can visit either a poker room or a casino. Anyway, links cannot be posted anymore.
The big question is if there is a way to make some money from poker rooms' affiliate programs on Youtube?
WPD affiliate program for poker streamers
Now all poker videos on YouTube should follow these tips:
- Don't post direct links to any poker site;
- Use Twitter or other sites to share links;
- Don't use logos or banners from poker room on the streams and YouTube videos;
- Use a moderate language avoiding direct invitations to register that can be understood by YouTube as a "proposal to purchase goods and services related to gambling directly," in short nothing that YouTube could consider propaganda.
And for those looking for the best ways to make extra incomes from their YouTube channel without any sanctions from the video hosting, Worldpokerdeals offers a profitable affiliate program.
On WPD, there are no direct links to poker rooms, so you can safely share our links and banners on the streams or under the videos; besides keeping your YouTube account safe, working with our affiliate program will relieve you from all issues involving poker rooms and players. You'll get a personal link to our site, access to a friendly back-office with rake stats, etc., and you will receive top-notch service from our team. The referred players will get exclusive rakeback deals, rake races, and much more.