YouTube Stars Blasted for Not Disclosing Ownership in Online Gambling Site CS:GO Lotto
- YouTube stars, Trevor "TmarTn" Martin and Tom "Syndicate" Cassell never revealed their interests in online gambling site
- Both YouTube stars promoted CS:GO Lotto without mention of their ownership in said company
- Message now appears warning users the site could be engaged in phishing and delivering malware
- Tom "Syndicate" Cassell offers apology for misleading public
Two YouTube stars, Trevor "TmarTn" Martin and Tom "Syndicate" Cassell, have come under fire for failing to reveal their ownership interests in Counter-Strike: GO gambling website CS:GO Lotto.
Both have promoted the site on their respective YouTube channels.
Neither had publicly disclosed their full roles in the site. TmarTn had not even disclosed his videos as being promotional tools, reports Eurogamer.net.
Users may have more to worry about than lack of transparency. When attempting to log into the CS:GO Lotto site Monday, visitors were greeted with the following warning:
"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.”
It is still possible to click through to the site, but only after disregarding Steam's warning.
CS:GO Lotto allows users to win virtual Counter-Strike: GO skins using real money. Each skin can then be sold for as much as tens of thousands of dollars.
Syndicate addressed this latest controversy Sunday night via his Twitter, and apologised to fans who felt "mislead":
"I apologise to anyone who feels mislead regarding the ownership of CS:GO Lotto," Syndicate said. "I will always be more transparent from here on out!
"I do however stand very firmly behind the fact that CS:GO Lotto has never and will never scam/steal from players."
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
