A pair of YouTubers from Essex have been charged under the UK Gambling Commission’s gambling act.
This is something of a milestone as it is believed to be the first such prosecution in the UK on betting related to competitive gaming.
Dylan Rigby and Craig ‘NephentheZ’ Douglas were charged for advertising unlawful gambling and promoting a lottery. Douglas’ history includes making videos for FutGalaxy, a betting site focused on FIFA, but it was not disclosed whether he was involved in the site’s operation. This Youtube channel has since shut down and included in Douglas’ charges is ‘inviting children to gamble’.
When attempting to access the site from the UK visitors are now met with the message ‘This page is not visible in your country’.
Both Douglas and Rigby are listed as directors of Game Gold Tradings Limited which can be seen on the Companies House site, with the former noted as joining on October 1st 2015 and the latter stated as starting onJuly 22nd 2014. This is listed on FutGalaxy’s website as the site’s address.
In August the UKGC published a paper focused on esports gambling following the mainstream realisation of the scandal and scope of skins betting. This move seems to be an indication that the UKGC is dedicated to cracking down on esports wagering.
Douglas and Rigby have had their initial court date and the case has been adjourned until October 14th.