Where to watch the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025
A new sponsor has joined StarLadder Budapest Major for 2025, and this new development has sparked speculation that the upcoming StarLadder Major won’t be streamed on Twitch and YouTube with fans only able to watch on Kick.
Online crypto gambling and sports betting hub Rollbit has joined StarLadder as its lead gambling sponsor for the Budapest Major, one of the biggest Counter-Strike 2 events of the calendar year. Some fans are worried this may lead to the event only being streamed on Kick, reducing the Major’s visibility online. Social media was abuzz with rumors about Twitch and YouTube’s strict gambling rules, which prohibit gambling advertisements, conflicting with the Major.
There is now official confirmation on where the event will be streamed, letting fans know exactly where to watch StarLadder Budapest Major.
Will the StarLadder Major be streamed on Kick or Twitch?
The StarLadder Budapest Major will be streamed live on both Kick and Twitch, allowing fans to watch on either platform so long as online crypto-based gambling and sports betting hub Rollbit meets the requirements of Twitch in its forms of advertising.
Kick is relatively lenient when it comes to gambling, which has made it the clear best platform for casino streaming and related betting activity. This is why there was no doubt that the StarLadder Budapest Major would be streamed on Kick without any restrictions. When Rollbit was announced as a sponsor for the StarLadder Major, some feared that Twitch and YouTube’s stricter rules regarding the streaming of betting and gambling activity would prevent the CS2 tournament from being streamed on the platforms.
While this may remain true for YouTube depending on how the advertiser is presented, as Google’s streaming platform hasn’t yet issued anything to refute these concerns, Twitch has issued a statement clarifying that the Major should be able to broadcast on its digital airwaves.
Image credit: StarLadder
Twitch stated that Rollbit is a prohibited gambling site, but the platform’s restrictions only apply if content is being streamed from the site itself or if audiences are being linked to that the prohibited platform. The Amazon-backed livestreaming hub clarified that if Rollbit only appears as physical branding during the CS2 Major streams, then the content will be in line with Twitch’s rules.
StarLadder has agreed only to display Rollbit’s physical branding during the 2025 Budapest Major, which shouldn’t violate any Community Guidelines and will, in theory, allow fans to watch the event while it’s streamed on Twitch.
It has been reported that StarLadder initially planned to make the Major a Kick-exclusive because of its gambling sponsor, but CS2 developer Valve didn’t want the Major event to be restricted to a single streaming platform. If Twitch hadn’t clarified its stance on the situation, viewers might have needed to watch only on Kick, or with a 180-second delay on CSTV.
But this clarification and compromise ensures that the event should be visible across both Kick and Twitch, allowing that many more CS2 fans to watch from home or on the go, and better enabling those betting on the Major to track the event’s results.
Feature image credit: StarLadder
Khizar Mundia has been playing video games for as long as he can recall. Things have come a long way since the many days he spent playing the original NES, though. He now covers a variety of competitive games and esports, as well as the world of streaming, ranging from Twitch to Kick. If it’s of interest to gamers, it’s of interest to Khizar.
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