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Two leading YouTubers have been accused of duping viewers into using a Counter Strike weapon skin gambling site that they themselves established.
A report from Games Industry following the release of a damning video from H3H3 that suggests YouTuber TmarTn posted videos in which he had claimed to discover the site CSGOlotto.com and seemed to win big on a livestream. At no point was it divulged that he, and fellow streamer ProSyndicate, were the owners, however.
The site allows users to gamble their skins for the chance to win a larger pot of goodies. That said skins are obtained via keys that are purchased with real money, and can then be sold for cash, has also led to a wider lawsuit about minors and their involvement in what appears to be gambling.
The more immediate concern for the games industry, however, is the apparent breach of disclosure rules. Neither TmarTn nor ProSyndicate disclosed their ownership of the site on videos that showed them winning on CSGOlotto. And indeed, the wins themselves now seem highly dubious, leading to accusations that they were staged.
TmarTn has protested his innocence, claiming that his ownership was never a secret (although there is no evidence it was ever previously disclosed) and that he didn’t own it at the time the videos were made (company documents show this is not the case). Disclaimers have since been retroactively added to many of his videos.
He has also denied staging his streamed item wins.
ProSyndicate has also apologised to any fans who feel they were misled and denied that the video betting was staged.
Here’s H3H3’s video investigation:
Oh and there’s this:
