mindx2
Codex Roaming East Coast Reporter
TB has a nice solid rant about this sort of thing and just how common it really is.
I wonder if he doesn't "name names" out of a tinge of fear that he could get sued for libel?
TB has a nice solid rant about this sort of thing and just how common it really is.
It's even more retarded than you think it is. Current-gen is seriously this fucking stupid.Why exactly are weapon skins for a video game considered worth thousands of dollars in the first place? Am I just too old to understand this or is it as retarded as I think it is?
Just wondered because of the Brits draconian libel laws.I think he just wanted to make the video about "the issue" rather than a typical youtube-soap-opera "call out" video.
You're just too old. This is how young people and Millennials find fulfillment, instead of having sex or bright futures. Get the hell off the internet, grampa.Why exactly are weapon skins for a video game considered worth thousands of dollars in the first place? Am I just too old to understand this or is it as retarded as I think it is?
Yes fucking gambling is illegal in most of the U.S. at least. That's why Las Vegas and Atlantic City and the various reservations are so special. Online poker sites and gambling sites and even fantasy sports league sites have been blocked in the U.S. in high profile news items over the past several years.Gambling isn't illegal, but it is taxed and regulated I doubt the keys shit is.
As someone who occasionally watches TB and doesn't get all his news from wherever anybody cares about this particular issue, I sure found this video confusing. To be more clear, Fuck TB for not explaining what the hell he's talking about. You don't want to call out people for doing something wrong? Fine, but then why are you making a fucking video calling out people for what they did wrong? How fucking stupid is that? The video makes absolutely no sense as a general statement, it only makes sense as a tirade against the specific people who specifically did something. You can't both call them out and not call them out. Pick one. Jesus fucking christ.TB has a nice solid rant about this sort of thing and just how common it really is.
He was accommodating enough to provide the emails detailing his deal with SteamLoto. See here.
This first one was the set-up in regards to his October 2015 video. When it comes to June 2016, the website was renovated. Seemingly as a result of Psi’s first deal, SteamLoto wanted to tap the YouTube well again. You can see there was an attempt by Psi to be more transparent.
If you can’t read the text or need a quick transcription, the conversation basically was stated as follows between SteamLoto’s Andrew Pyramov and Lewis PsiSyndicate.
Andrew: Hey. So we have updated our site and there won’t be any complications, that rose up the first time your video had been released. And I was wondering if you could make another video on SteamLoto.
Psi: Ok he’s the idea I’ll propose, if you don’t want to that’s fine, but how about (purely to attract viewers while advertising the sites functionality), you can set up (if you even can) me to “unbox a ruby/sapphire”, but set it up in a way where it’s transparent it was rigged of that makes sense. I don’t keep the knife, blah blah, idk.
If you have a hard time reading the text, a transcription of the conversation is below, where the YouTuber and SteamLoto continue to plot out how to promote the site but make it look organic. Essentially, native advertising through YouTube.
Andrew: Ok. But whats about the video itself? if you don’t get it as a drop, then what are your thoughts on the contents?
Psi: Oh sorry you want to do it the way I said? Ok that works too if you can do that?
Andrew: Well, I thought, that if everything was like the first time, but if you told people, that the video is in fact sponsored, it would work. It’s up to you of course. But I think it’s a good compromise.
Andrew: What if we gave you some other item to unbox, that you would then return? After you upload the video, you get the karambit. Uploading the video to get paid may sound a bit overboard, but we’ve had some rough moments even with the people, we’ve already worked with. So we just want to make sure everything goes well.
Psi: Erm I mean I can unbox X and return those and accept that as a payment or something? I’m not sure, whatever you feel sounds good to be honest! As long as it’s a win for both parties I have no issue with advertising etc, it’s just obviously you can admit the website had issues in the past (which now seem resolved!)
Andrew: You unbox a medusa, accept the trade for the video and all. Then you return it. After a video is up, we send you the karambit. Just tell me if that’s ok. Yes, I admit to having problems in the past but they are, as you’ve already mentioned, resolved. As for any questions that your viewers might have concerning an awp(I’m sure some will), you just tell them you gambled it, sold it, etc. Again, we totally trust you, but these are precautions that we have to take right now, due to the reasons I’ve mentioned earlier.
More like the state has a monopoly on gambling in most places.Yes fucking gambling is illegal in most of the U.S. at least. That's why Las Vegas and Atlantic City and the various reservations are so special. Online poker sites and gambling sites and even fantasy sports league sites have been blocked in the U.S. in high profile news items over the past several years.
Why exactly are weapon skins for a video game considered worth thousands of dollars in the first place? Am I just too old to understand this or is it as retarded as I think it is?
Translation: There are a billion other horrible things going on in gaming right now, discussions about which TB normally doesn't want to get involved with and thus avoids discussing. But this one is just too horrible to ignore. /translationAs someone who occasionally watches TB and doesn't get all his news from wherever anybody cares about this particular issue, I sure found this video confusing. To be more clear, Fuck TB for not explaining what the hell he's talking about. You don't want to call out people for doing something wrong? Fine, but then why are you making a fucking video calling out people for what they did wrong? How fucking stupid is that? The video makes absolutely no sense as a general statement, it only makes sense as a tirade against the specific people who specifically did something. You can't both call them out and not call them out. Pick one. Jesus fucking christ.
and this whole ~scandal~ is important... why?
Because GabeN gives out those weapon skins in only 0.01% of all crates. Valve has created this scarcity and gambling addiction.Why exactly are weapon skins for a video game considered worth thousands of dollars in the first place? Am I just too old to understand this or is it as retarded as I think it is?
You shouldn't even be paying attention to WEAPON SKINS while you're trying to shoot YOUR OPPONENT.
Weapons or armor that give you special abilities? Ok... I can understand that. Paying thousands of dollars for a SKIN. I can't even....
On some level I could understand it if every skin in the game wasn't FUCK ugly.You shouldn't even be paying attention to WEAPON SKINS while you're trying to shoot YOUR OPPONENT.
Weapons or armor that give you special abilities? Ok... I can understand that. Paying thousands of dollars for a SKIN. I can't even....
As I understand, they're using the pachinko loophole: Valve says it's technically not gambling because they're betting for virtual goods and not money, and said goods can be exchanged between players only via trading or steam funds, which can't be exchanged for real currency legitimately.I seriously do not understand how sites like this can even function, regardless of YouTuber conflicts of interest. Being too lazy to google, I'll assume Valve's decided this is a gray area because they're paying out virtual crap rather than money.
Exposed YouTube star says sorry you didn't realise he owned gambling site he promoted
By Tom Phillips Published 07/07/2016
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.
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.
TmarTn's video statement lies below:
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".
How much for this weapon skin?
Of course nobody's going down for this. I don't want to shock you, but wealthy, clean cut, young white guys have traditionally been pretty great at avoiding serious consequences.Is anyone going down for this? Would love to see videos of youtuber-20-somethings crying because they accidentally got in over their heads while thinking they were really clever. Post vids when/if it happens.
How much for this weapon skin?