YouTube Announces Stricter Policies on Gaming Violence and Digital Gambling
YouTube is strengthening its Community Guidelines, introducing stricter enforcement on content related to graphic violence in gaming and online gambling, particularly involving digital goods. The new policies, announced to the creator community on 28 October, are set to take effect on 17 November.
The company stated the updates are intended to “evolve alongside the digital world” and “keep pace with new trends.”
Key Policy Changes:
1. Expanded Gambling Enforcement: YouTube’s policy is being expanded to cover new forms of online gambling. While the platform already prohibits linking to uncertified gambling sites, the strengthened enforcement will now cover online gambling that uses “additional items that have monetary value.”
This new scope explicitly targets:
- Digital Goods: Including video game skins and cosmetics.
- NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens): Content promoting or directing users to gamble with NFTs will fall under the new restrictions.
- Social Casinos: Content that depicts or promotes “social casino” games (where no real money is wagered) will now be age-restricted.
2. Age Restrictions for Graphic Gaming Violence: The platform is also narrowing its tolerance for certain types of violent gaming content. While YouTube has existing guidelines on this topic, the update will now age-restrict a “small subset” of content featuring realistic human characters in specific scenarios, including:
- Sustained scenes of torture.
- Scenes of mass violence directed against non-combatants.
According to the announcement, enforcement will consider factors like the duration of the scene, whether the violence is the main focus, and the realism of the characters involved.
Impact on Creators
YouTube clarified the transition process for creators. Content uploaded before the 17 November deadline that violates these new rules may be age-restricted or removed, but it will not result in a channel strike.
Creators have been advised to review their existing content and use YouTube’s editing tools to make any necessary changes before the enforcement date. As with other policy violations, creators will be notified by email if any of their videos are actioned and will have the ability to appeal the decision.
