How streaming platforms and online gambling entertainment are converging
April 27, 2026
The line between broadcast media and the video games industry is blurring. Streaming services like Twitch have attracted a large following while the participation in online gambling has reached new heights.
That’s led broadcasters and the companies that operate platform’s like Alderney-regulated PokerStars to pay more attention to where the two industries intersect.
A shifting entertainment landscape
The global streaming video market is now valued at over $100 billion annually with markets such as Video-On-Demand booming. Within the UK, the leading industry that consumes Video-On-Demand content is the gambling industry which, according to The Gambling Commission, generated £14.1 billion in gross gambling yield for the last reported period. Streaming platforms are increasingly intersecting with interactive entertainment formats, and playing at a UK casino online has become one of the clearer examples of how broadcast audiences now expect on-demand, session-based engagement across multiple content categories. The convergence of OTT and linear television is causing a sea change in the way that media companies approach audience retention and scheduling decisions.
The UK media industry is changing. Analyst house Enders Analysis has identified a growing trend among young consumers, who often watch streaming content in the same evening as they log interactive games sessions. Founder and chief analyst Vincent Lefoy spoke to outline what this means for developers, and for the future of gaming.
Regulation and advertising in a dual-screen world The UK gambling reform white paper published by DCMS in 2023 set out proposals to ensure that modern regulations for age gambling in the digital age are aligned with how consumers are changing the way they consume products that contain gambling. Advertising code compliance has always been a cornerstone of responsible advertising and the ASA continues to set clear standards for all forms of gambling advertising, including pre-roll and mid-roll video on streaming services and connected TV.
The overlap between betting and broadcasting has not gone unnoticed by integrity bodies in betting. The IBIA has noted that when considering sports betting integrity one must also consider the distribution of live and near-live sports content on streaming services.
Audience data and commercial opportunity
New figures from The Gambling Commission suggest that around 47 per cent of adults in Great Britain gamble at least once in any four-week period. That there is a large and active audience who consume content on streaming platforms and are also open to online gambling may be underlined by the significant year-on-year growth in the market share of newer online gambling operators who are actively using live streaming within their platforms.
Gambling audience data provides insights into viewing patterns among those who gamble and is becoming an increasingly important commodity for broadcasters and platform operators. It will be used to inform decisions around content investment, to plan partnership strategies, and to create engagement features on streaming services.
What this means for the broadcast industry
The relationship between the two industries is also a pressing issue for broadcasters around issues of advertising, interactivity and platform design given the structural similarities between streaming entertainment and online gambling content. With regulation of the new entertainment and participatory offerings slowly starting to emerge and viewing habits increasingly switching to on-demand, the interest in this sector is set to continue.
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