What is hamster race betting? Twitch livestream leaves the online community amused

A new Twitch trend has amused the online community, as a channel called "hamstersgg" has garnered attention on social media. For context, the hamstersgg broadcast lets viewers wager on hamster races in real time. An excerpt from the website reads:

"Hamsters is a betting platform where you can bet on live-streamed hamsters. The hamsters are real and the bets are real. The hamsters are running on a track and the first hamster to cross the finish line wins. You can bet on the winning hamster and win money if you are right."

On July 23, 2023, Twitter user @RealJonahBlake did a deep dive into the trend. He claimed that the hamsters seen in Twitch livestreams were "well taken care of" and added:

"I need to say a few things. One - I will not be placing any bets in this hamster race betting ring. Two - as far as I am aware, these hamsters are well taken care of. I have no idea. I have no proof of this but if I thought if they were actually in danger, I wouldn't even consider making this video."

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Twitter user @RealJonahBlake provides details about the trending hamster race betting Twitch livestreams

In the seven-minute video, @RealJonahBlake claimed that the Twitch channel for hamster betting was linked to cryptocurrency. After showcasing a few tweets from netizens who expressed their amusement by the trend, Jonah stated:

"I saw a live race and I'm going to show you some VODs (video on demand) of live races and it was getting over a thousand (views). Actually, like, 5,000 or 6,000, between this (Twitch stream) and the actual site. (The streamer reads the hamstersgg's Twitch channel description) 'We don't know much about them, but we're sure hamstersgg is great."

The Twitter user then displayed the website and explained how viewers could wager on racing hamsters:

"So, here's how it works. (The streamer highlights the lower part of the website) You've got the hamsters you can place a bet on here. (The streamer highlights the right-hand-side of the website) You've got the crypto chat here. (The streamer highlights the centerstage of the website) And, the viewer is in here, with the people watching and apparently there's races every hour or so now."

@RealJonahBlake then reviewed a previous Twitch livestream of a race in which hamsters named Buster, Milo, Sparky, and Oliver competed. Providing details about the animals' safety, the Twitter user remarked:

"Supposedly, this is humane because what happens is - there is a camera on top of each one of these racing boxes. They all start here and they are not required to finish the race. So, they record the race. So, who knows if there is cheating or whatever with the bets? I don't really care. So, there's Milo, right? It's an overhead camera and they are not pushed. There's no, like, you know, treat here or anything. They just can sit there and the race cannot even complete. And they could just end up in a track."

In the concluding moments, @RealJonahBlake played a clip that allegedly showcased the hamsters' quality-of-life. He elaborated:

"Apparently, each video has a quality-of-life check. Or proof of the quality-of-life. There's a clip here that said, 'Before the race and after.' So, this is apparently a quality-of-life video. These are the cages they're in; or homes. They don't look all that bad. Although, I don't know if hamsters should be stacked."

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At the time of writing, the hamstersgg Twitch channel was livestreaming, with over 226 viewers waiting for game number 1,130 to begin. Furthermore, the Amazon-owned company has not issued a statement regarding animal betting on the platform.