Two popular YouTube stars are being criticized for failing to disclose that they own one of the esports betting sites they’ve been promoting. This glaring lack of transparency shook the esports betting world and was condemned by a big name video game site.
Trevor “TmarTn” Martin and Tom “Syndicate” Cassell may not be household names, but they’re superstars in the video game world. Their popular YouTube channels are mainstream media for video game fans and esports bettors who pay real cash to wager for virtual items.
These virtual items aren’t assigned a cash value on the sites where they’re won, but many of them are traded for real money via third party sites.
It’s a niche market to be certain but, according to a report on CalvinAyre.com, these sites pull in millions of dollars a day in wagers. It’s also a niche market over which Martin and Cassell have a great deal of influence, and that’s what made the revelation that they also own CSGOLotto.com, a Counter-Strike Global Offensive skin wagering site, such a bombshell.
News of their connection to CSGO Lotto quickly spread through video circles and users attempting to log in to CSCGO Lotto via Steam, a popular video game host site, were greeted with a warning reading:
The URL you are attempting to log in to has been blocked by our moderators and staff. This site may be engaged in phishing, scamming, spamming, or delivering malware.
The two men have issued apologies and have promised to be more transparent in the future, but that wasn’t enough to ward off the inevitable backlash.
This situation has prompted some in the esports betting world to point out the need for more regulation in this rapidly growing sector of the gambling industry.