Youtube is still taking down poker channels without explanation
Over the weekend, the biggest channel in poker was taken down, giving content creators concerns about the future of the platform.
Brad Owen is the biggest YouTuber in poker with almost 800,000 subscribers and videos with millions of views.
Yet over the weekend, he ran into the same trouble that many prominent poker YouTubers have faced recently, having his channel taken down without warning or explanation.
Not only was his channel taken down, he was warned he would not be allowed to create content on any other channel, even one not related to poker.
Hey @YouTube @YouTubeCreators my channel "Brad Owen Clips" was just taken down. I wasn't given any strikes or anything and I'm totally confused on what just happened. It says it's been terminated for "Circumvention." I read the policy and have no idea how that applies to my… pic.twitter.com/atV1DDWmIx
— Brad Owen (@TheBradOwen) September 26, 2025
He was fortunate enough that his channel was reinstated, but no explanation was given. Owen revealed that he felt poker players were not safe to create content on the platform any more.
I really appreciate a lot of others in the poker content community reaching out to help in any way they could. YouTube is not a particularly safe place for us. I recommend trying to grow on as many platforms as possible so that we’re not nearly as susceptible to nebulous policies… https://t.co/G4r52pOX4K pic.twitter.com/ZaPcjDMP4n
— Brad Owen (@TheBradOwen) September 26, 2025
A clampdown on poker content?
This is one of many cases of prominent poker YouTubers who are abiding by the rules, having their channels taken down without warning. Bencb, Jnandez, CoinPoker, Nick Eastwood and Ryan Depaulo are just a few of the many who have had this happen to them. In most cases, the channels get reinstated, but in the case of Jonathan Van Fleet, his channel was permanently deleted.
Poker YouTuber was once an appealing career choice for many content creators, but it doesn't look viable any more, not at least without some diversification. Poker creators are looking at alternative options like Twitch, as well as Rumble, as a direct result of this recent aggressive clampdown.
