Twitch has always looked for ways to make streaming more fun and interactive for viewers. Last year, extensions were the biggest thing to come to Twitch – apps that could be used to customize the viewing and streaming process – but Twitch still has big plans for them. After making extensions mobile in March, Twitch has unveiled their newest change: Bits are now useable within extensions.

In the beginning, Bits were just a fun, different way to support streamers. Donations are considered just that – donations. In the world of Twitch, a donation is often coupled with a message, a way to get the streamer to interact with your comments, but Bits are different. Bits have always been a way for the viewer to simply support the streamer for a fraction of the cost (one Bit is worth a single penny). Now, Bits will be used through a number of Extensions to interact with the streamer, stream, and audience in unique ways.

Twitch has announced a partnership with 28 separate developers to create unique viewing experiences. OneView, for instance, is an esports viewing Extension for League of Legends. The Extension will allow viewers to vote (and by that we mean bet) on events within a League of Legends match, such as who will get first blood, and which team will take the first turret gold. While many of the Extensions are aimed at enhancing the experience of the stream, others are merely mini-games or distractions to take place during it.

Bithead Arcade and BOBMOB are both that use Extensions in a way more like an arcade game though. These extensions are games to play while viewing, Extensions that have more to do with giving viewers something to do than to show support for a streamer.

The move has two obvious purposes. The first purpose is exactly what Twitch has said – to give viewers more interactivity. Being able to bet on which team will get First Blood is a great way to raise engagement with a viewing audience, especially once First Blood does come and the audience goes wild. But the other aspect, one Twitch is certainly aware of, is that the more addictive or easy it is to spend Bits, the more likely users are to pour money into buying them.

Viewers freely spending Bits on games and fun is one thing, but Twitch may just have to tread lightly. The gambling scandal that swept CS:GO is not so far in the past, and even today, governments across the world still debate if Loot Boxes are gambling. If viewers become addicted to this ‘voting’, especially during live esport matches, and it is all through Bits, then Twitch may just have a bigger problem than they anticipate.

A list of all Bit Extensions can be found here.