$300,000 Streamer Scam Fuels Movement to (5189454)

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A TEARFUL CONFESSION from a popular Twitch streamer, who admitted to conning friends and followers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay his gambling expenses, has prompted calls for the site to crack down on users broadcasting live bets in online casinos.

Abraham Mohammed, known as ItsSliker on Twitch, where he has more than 400,000 subscribers — or “Sliker” for short — took to his channel this weekend to respond to a spate of recent accusations that he had bilked other streamers of money with stories of frozen bank accounts and similar woes. In the video, the British streamer explained that he got into gambling through Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, a video game whose professional esport community made it possible to wager on matches with rare and valuable in-game items, and eventually to bet these goods elsewhere. Soon, Sliker said, he was burning through all his Twitch money in virtual casinos and asking other users for loans, always promising to repay them while never revealing his addiction or insurmountable debt.

“I am not a victim,” he emphasized, adding: “My intentions were never to scam anyone.”

Sliker’s preferred venues for this gambling are unclear, and he did not reply to a request for comment. But his public embarrassment over this activity has renewed scrutiny of gambling platforms such as Stake.com, which offer sports betting and digital versions of casino games through offshore companies. Players use bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on these sites rather than traditional money, helping the casinos avoid regulatory oversight, and identity screening is minimal. As these businesses have taken off, their offerings are increasingly featured on Twitch streams alongside League of Legends and Minecraft. Currently, “Slots” are the tenth most-watched game on the site, right below Fortnite.

Yanny, a 23-year-old in Norway, told Rolling Stone in a private message that they were Sliker’s first Twitch friend after the pair connected back in 2017. They also have receipts showing they’ve sent him the equivalent of more than $4,000 since February 2021. Sliker has yet to pay it back.

“In voice chat and text chat he’d be very manipulative. He’d act like he’s in a rush, say everything is urgent and he tried being a little personal with me,” Yanny explained. “Saying stuff like ‘I’d really appreciate if you helped me out,’ ‘I don’t know what to do,’ ‘It’s ok if you can’t help me out, I totally get that I’m requesting a lot,’ “You know you mean a lot to me,’ ‘I feel like taking my own life,’ and the list goes on.” (A redditor has compiled screenshots of similar instances where Sliker asked for money from viewers in his Discord, and Sliker himself admitted himself in a stream to taking money from a woman receiving chemotherapy.)

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A TEARFUL CONFESSION from a popular Twitch streamer, who admitted to conning friends and followers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay his gambling expenses, has prompted calls for the site to crack down on users broadcasting live bets in online casinos.

Abraham Mohammed, known as ItsSliker on Twitch, where he has more than 400,000 subscribers — or “Sliker” for short — took to his channel this weekend to respond to a spate of recent accusations that he had bilked other streamers of money with stories of frozen bank accounts and similar woes. In the video, the British streamer explained that he got into gambling through Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, a video game whose professional esport community made it possible to wager on matches with rare and valuable in-game items, and eventually to bet these goods elsewhere. Soon, Sliker said, he was burning through all his Twitch money in virtual casinos and asking other users for loans, always promising to repay them while never revealing his addiction or insurmountable debt.

“I am not a victim,” he emphasized, adding: “My intentions were never to scam anyone.”

Sliker’s preferred venues for this gambling are unclear, and he did not reply to a request for comment. But his public embarrassment over this activity has renewed scrutiny of gambling platforms such as Stake.com, which offer sports betting and digital versions of casino games through offshore companies. Players use bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on these sites rather than traditional money, helping the casinos avoid regulatory oversight, and identity screening is minimal. As these businesses have taken off, their offerings are increasingly featured on Twitch streams alongside League of Legends and Minecraft. Currently, “Slots” are the tenth most-watched game on the site, right below Fortnite.

Yanny, a 23-year-old in Norway, told Rolling Stone in a private message that they were Sliker’s first Twitch friend after the pair connected back in 2017. They also have receipts showing they’ve sent him the equivalent of more than $4,000 since February 2021. Sliker has yet to pay it back.

“In voice chat and text chat he’d be very manipulative. He’d act like he’s in a rush, say everything is urgent and he tried being a little personal with me,” Yanny explained. “Saying stuff like ‘I’d really appreciate if you helped me out,’ ‘I don’t know what to do,’ ‘It’s ok if you can’t help me out, I totally get that I’m requesting a lot,’ “You know you mean a lot to me,’ ‘I feel like taking my own life,’ and the list goes on.” (A redditor has compiled screenshots of similar instances where Sliker asked for money from viewers in his Discord, and Sliker himself admitted himself in a stream to taking money from a woman receiving chemotherapy.)

MONTHER GHANAM