Two U.K. YouTubers Fined $330,000 For Promoting Video Game Gambling To Minors

Two U.K. YouTube stars were fined hundreds of thousands of dollars for promoting illegal video game gambling. The creators, 33-year-old Dylan Rigby, whose FutGalaxy channel has since been deleted, and 32-year-old Craig Douglas, whose NepentheZ channel counts roughly 1.5 million subscribers, plead guilty to promoting a website — also dubbed FutGalaxy — that enabled minors to gamble on real-life pro soccer matches using a virtual currency earned through FIFA, the popular video game.

Rigby was fined roughly $218,000 for not having a gambling license as well as for knowingly promoting the site to children, while Douglas must pay $114,000 for the latter charge.

“The aggravating features of these offenses are they were committed over a relatively long period of about six months,” district judge Jack McGarva said in his ruling, per The Guardian. “In my opinion, both of you were aware of the use of the site by children and the attractiveness of it to children.” One 14-year-old user, for instance, is said to have lost about $730 in a single day.

Following the ruling, Douglas tweeted, “The worst year of my life concluded today. I have so much to say, but you’ll take whatever judgement you feel needed from the press.” He noted that he would be making a video to share his side of the story in due time. “I also owe a huge apology and debt of gratitude to my loyal supporters,” he concluded. “Even if this is the end of our journey together, I’m grateful.”

The case against Rigby and Douglas marks the first time that the U.K. Gambling Commission brought charges against a video game gambling website. But other YouTubers, too, have come under fire for dodgy practices in the realm of video game gambling. The Syndicate Project and TmarTn, for instance, were accused by fellow YouTubers of promoting a gambling website for the first-person shooter game Counter Strike: Global Offensive without disclosing that they owned it. Both later amended disclaimers on their channels, and apologized for not being more transparent.