Tmartn Csgo Lotto
Three of YouTube and Twitch's most popular gaming personalities, Trevor 'TmarTn' Martin, Thomas 'ProSyndicate' Cassell, and Josh 'JoshOG' Beaver, are embroiled a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive gambling scandal following improper disclosure of their financial and ownership involvement with betting site CSGO Lotto.
YouTube personality 'TmarTn' issues apology for lack of transparency in CSGO Lotto. After expressing his undying love for his subscribers, Martin attempted to set the record straight. Trevor ‘TmarTn’ Martin is undoubtedly one of the most controversial people in the CSGO gambling scene. The YouTuber who was also the owner of the CSGO skin gambling website CSGO Lotto hid the fact that he had no involvement with his own website whatsoever while making YouTube videos of his winnings in CSGO Lotto. Dec 22, 2020 Trevor Martin and fellow gamer Thomas Cassell ran into problems in early 2016 when they failed to fully disclose their relationship with CSGO Lotto—a gambling site for Counter Strike: Global Offensive gamers. The pair used the YouTube platform to upload videos of them using the site, with titles like “How To Win $13,000 in 5 Minutes!”. In the Matter of CSGOLotto, Inc., a corporation; Trevor Martin, also known as TmarTn, individually and as an officer of CSGOLotto, Inc.; and Thomas Cassell, also known as TheSyndicateProject, Tom Syndicate, and Syndicate, individually and as an officer of CSGOLotto, Inc. The latest tweets from @tmartn.
Counter-Strike gambling and betting has come under heavy fire by the community over the past few years because of its lack of regulation. By betting decorative skins that are earned by opening in-game crates (which can then be purchased for money on the Steam marketplace), websites are able to circumvent the category of 'traditional gambling.' Counter-Strike's developer, Valve, has been quiet on the matter.
YouTubers Ethan 'h3h3Productions' Klein and HonorTheCall accused Martin and Cassell of openly promoting the CSGO Lotto site without being forthcoming about their ties within the company. Viewers have also complained about being misled to believe Martin had no prior knowledge of the website. In March, Martin specifically said he 'found a new site' in reference to CSGO Lotto.
Beaver has come under less criticism, primarily because he disclosed a promo deal between his videos and CSGO Lotto. According to the Federal Trade Commission's outline on endorsements, he failed to do so correctly by only putting said sponsorship in the description of his videos.
Martin, Cassell and Beaver are all officers of the company's corporation, which was established in Orlando, Florida, Martin's hometown. Martin currently acts as the company's president, Cassell as vice president, and Beaver as secretary. Martin and Cassell have both failed to notify their viewers of such a link until recently, following the release of HonorTheCall's videos, when Martin said that it was 'no secret' that he and Cassell were owners of CSGO Lotto.
Martin's explanation to fans has changed over time, however. Martin told YouTube channel Scarce that he was not originally involved in CSGO Lotto when he first came in contact with the site. However, according to Florida Department of State's Division of Corporations' online service, Martin was the original incorporator of the business in December 2015.
A large concern is that Martin, Cassell and Beaver would have access to the back end of the CSGO Lotto site due to their ownership. This would allow each of them to know the numbers and potentially rig the winning of a bet for entertainment and promotional purposes on their site, something that fellow Twitch streamer Mohamad 'm0E' Assad recently went under fire for in relation to CSGO Diamonds, another gambling site.
After the release of h3h3Productions's video, Martin began to make all of his videos regarding CSGO Lotto private on YouTube, as well as his vlog defending his nondisclosure of ownership. His Twitter has been relatively silent, aside from a now-deleted Twitlonger statement Monday, which a user managed to cache before its deletion.
'I've admitted to wishing I was more upfront about owning the site,' Martin said in the now-deleted statement. 'It was always public info but I was never very outspoken about it. My idea was to keep business business, while the focus of YouTube was simply making entertaining content. Obviously, that was misleading to viewers and something I very much regret.'
Various attorneys on Twitter, notably Ryan Morrison, also known as VideoGameAttorney, have said that what Martin and Cassell have done is illegal. However, the legal ramifications Martin, Cassell and Beaver will face currently remains unclear.
Answers to all:
1) Yes what the CSGO YT'ers did is illegal
2) Yes they are reported
3) Not helping Bashur
4) I can eat a grande combo solo
- Video Game Attorney (@MrRyanMorrison) July 5, 2016
Martin, for his part, claims in his statement what they did was 'legal' and that conducting business in a legal manner was his company's top priority. Cassell, on the other hand, was more forthcoming with his thoughts on the matter, although he claims he did nothing wrong.
I apologize to anyone who feels mislead regarding the ownership of @CSGOLotto. I will always be more transparent from here on out!
- Mr. Syndicate (@ProSyndicate) July 4, 2016
I do however stand very firmly behind the fact that @CSGOLotto has never & will never scam/steal from players.
- Mr. Syndicate (@ProSyndicate) July 4, 2016
I've always disclosed that my CSGO videos were sponsored & even asked a YouTube employee if anything more was needed & they said it wasn't.
- Mr. Syndicate (@ProSyndicate) July 4, 2016
Things might change soon, however, as a Counter-Strike player Michael John McLeod has opened a class-action lawsuit against Valve for allowing an 'illegal online gambling market.' In the suit, McLeod alleges that Valve 'knowingly allowed an illegal online gambling market and has been complicit in creating, sustaining and facilitating that market.'
In an analytics report by Chris Grove from Narus Advisors, CS:GO has made $7.4 billion dollars annually (with 1.9 billion for jackpot sites where players bet skins in lottery-style games).
Tmartn Csgo Lotto
UPDATE 2.15pm: Shamed YouTube star Trevor 'TmarTn' Martin has not responded to requests for comment on the matter of his gambling site promotion and ownership, but he has appointed a legal team to respond on his behalf.
Seeking answers after last night's apology video, Eurogamer asked TmarTn's legal representatives for more information, but I was told there would be 'no further public comments on the matter'.
For now, at least, TmarTn is staying quiet.
For reference, we had asked for answers to: why TmarTn and others promoted CS:GO Lotto without disclosing their videos as a promotional material, how TmarTn's defence that his ownership was a matter of public record is adequate disclosure and why TmarTn introduced CS:GO Lotto to his viewers as a site a friend recommended.
We also quizzed why TmarTn can be seen in another video logged in under a bot account, why TmarTn pulled many of his videos promoting CS:GO Lotto and why they remain offline, and why his latest apology video from overnight is also gone.
TmarTn has yet to say when he will next address the matter - if at all. His fellow CS:GO Lotto owner Tom 'Syndicate' Cassell has signalled he will make a statement in the near future regarding his part, however.
UPDATE 7.50am: Mere hours after it went live, exposed YouTube star Trevor 'TmarTn' Martin has deleted his own apology video.
The less-than-three-minute confessional was roundly criticised (see: below) for failing to address most of the concerns raised this week, when it transpired TmarTn had been promoting a gambling site to his young audience without any disclosure - or any word at all that he was in fact its president.
The apology, which has since been reuploaded by other users and so is still available to view via the mirror below, boiled down to TmarTn saying how his ownership was on company records so no one should have been surprised.
TmarTn deleted the video around three hours ago, along with posts on Twitter linking to it. He has not gone into detail about his decision to remove it, but told one Twitter user he was 'disappointed in it'.
I was disappointed in it
— TmarTn (@TmarTn) July 7, 2016Tmartn Scam
There's no suggestion yet he'll make another. As of writing, his latest tweet two hours ago thanks fans who are still with him:
This has been such a humbling experience. Live, learn, and grow. Thankful for those still with me. Good night guys.
— TmarTn (@TmarTn) July 7, 2016Here's the apology video to watch via a mirror. If you missed it overnight (the video only went up at midnight) there's a breakdown of what TmarTn fails to address in it below:
ORIGINAL STORY 0.30am: One of the YouTube stars who this week were discovered to be promoting a gambling site they in fact owned has issued a brief apology video in an attempt to calm the controversy.
Trevor 'TmarTn' Martin's piece to camera, embedded below, is short. It fails to address many of the concerns levied at him and fellow CS:GO Lotto owner Tom 'Syndicate' Cassell.
Chief among those concerns - the suggestion that they knowingly mislead viewers by promoting a gambling site they in fact owned, and encouraged others to spend money on it after showcasing themselves apparently winning thousands of dollars worth of items in minutes.
MarTn's defence of himself is that his ownership of CS:GO Lotto was a matter of public record since day one (a fact he at one point himself disputed, claiming he only came on board later).
In short, TmarTn appears to suggest his fans should have researched the company details of a website he himself told viewers he had just stumbled upon, so they could have then discovered he was registered as its president.
'Now, my connection to CS:GO LOtto has been a matter of public record since the company was first organised back in December 2015,' TmarTn states. 'However, I do feel like I owe you guys an apology. I'm sorry to each and every one of you who feels like this was not made clear enough to you.'
It's worth remembering at this point how TmarTn introduced the site to his viewers: '[A friend] has been hitting me up and we found this new site named CS:GO Lotto. I've put a link down in the description, check it out. Anyway, we were betting on it today and I won $69 or something, so it was a pretty small pot but it was the coolest feeling ever! I ended up following them on Twitter and they're now talking to me about potentially doing a skin sponsorship!'
The idea that any viewer could assume TmarTn's ownership from that - or then go researching the company to find out - is unlikely to convince anyone.
TmarTn's apology video continues with a reassurance he is 'committed to making sure that my YouTube channel, as well as all of my other businesses, are in compliance with the law', that users under the age of 18 are not supposed to gamble on the site, and that he believes every game played on the site has been 'legitimate'.
The statement does not address why TmarTn and others promoted the site without disclosing their ownership of and financial ties to the company.
It does not address or apologise for TmarTn pretending to stumble upon the site - rather, it suggests that TmarTn's own viewers could and should have known by themselves.
It does not address video which shows TmarTn logged in under a bot account.
It does not address how his many viewers under the age of 18 are able to log in and gamble by simply ticking a box to say they're 18.
It does not address why TmarTn pulled many of his videos promoting CS:GO Lotto and why they remain offline.
Eurogamer reached out to TmarTn earlier in the week for answers to all of the above. We have since also reached out to TmarTn's lawyer, who declined to comment on any points raised above.
The only thing the video does say, really, is that TmarTn's fans should not feel like he was trying to deceive them, and that he is now looking forward to getting back to 'regularly scheduled content'.
I've since spoken with PsiSyndicate, another YouTuber involved in promoting gambling sites without proper disclosure. He has revealed how easy it is for gambling sites to rig results so YouTubers can be seen winning easily - and how they are paid handsomely at the same time.