YouTube Controversy; ‘CSGO’ Betting Site Owned By Creators

When it comes to betting sites, it’s a fair assumption that there are going to be a lot of shenanigans going on. People are always going to look out for number one, and in this case, number one means the person who has the most to gain. A recent example of this is the controversy surrounding YouTube figures, Trevor "Tmartn" Martin and Tom "Syndicate" Cassel who run a betting site and did not disclose that fact even as they encouraged viewers to go to said website.

The site in question is “CS:GO Lotto,” according to Polygon. The site is accessible to players as young as 13 years old, and they can exchange real money for virtual items called weapon skins. Apparently, these features can be worth a lot of money to players.

Combined, the number of subscribers that Martin and Cassel have add up to 10 million. As such, when they released videos that asked viewers to go to their website without disclosing the fact that they are the owner and vice-president of said website, it raises ethical concerns.

Now, Steam users of “CS:GO” are given warnings whenever the try to visit the website, telling them that “Lotto” has been banned by “Valve.” This won’t stop the players from entering, but it does make it clear that the activities by the website as well as its owners are not officially sanctioned by “Valve.”

According to Gamasutra, players can also enter a gambling pool where they will enter their own weapon skins as the betting item. The winner of the pool will walk away with all of the weapon skins.

Now, the fact that they are owners of the website are encouraging viewers to their site potentially earns them a sizeable profit margin, but both Martin and Cassel also directly earn money via cuts from the winning pool. As such, their activity has become significantly more questionable.