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UNLV researcher explores rise of slot streamers, gambling vlogs

Saturday, August 8, 2026 12:12 PM
Photo: Photo Agency/Shutterstock.com
  • Ziv Chen, Covers

A study by Tiange (Patrick) Xu, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) International Gaming Institute (IGI), examined the growth of gambling vlogs and slot streamers on YouTube.

The study, “An In-Depth Analysis of Slot Machine Vlogs on YouTube,” was presented at the 19th International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking, attended by researchers, regulators, operators, and public health experts. It offers one of the most detailed looks yet at one of gambling’s fastest-growing forms of online content.

Not long ago, most gambling marketing came directly from casinos and sportsbooks. Today, much of it comes from content creators.