FTC forces YouTubers who owned CS:GO gambling site to be transparent

The American regulator FTC has reached a settlement with YouTubers Syndicate and TmarTn. The two owned CSGO Lotto and promoted that gambling site in their videos, without disclosing their affiliation with the company.

Under the settlement, the two YouTubers are now required to make clear what ties they have with companies or websites that they promote in their videos. They have to do that very clearly, in the same way that the message is communicated, so that it is unmissable for the viewer.

The settlement contains many other measures that should keep the two YouTubers in line. Not only themselves, but also employees or other people related to their business must adhere to the rules. The YouTubers must therefore provide the list of commitments to the FTC for a period of five years to, for example, employees.

In a year’s time, the two YouTubers must submit a report to the FTC showing how they have complied with the settlement. They also have to report every change to their business operations to the watchdog for ten years. If they want to merge with another company, or for example want to sell their business, they must report this. Any name or address change must also be reported to the supervisor.

Last year the case about CSGO Lotto came to light. The two YouTubers who regularly promoted the website in their videos turned out to be joint owners of the gambling site. They never mentioned that. The two have also paid other influencers to promote the website on YouTube, according to the FTC. they would have paid between 2500 and 55,000 dollars to be positive about the website. After the fuss, Syndicate and TmarTn stop with CSGO Lotto. The two are still active on YouTube and each has a popular channel with millions of followers.

The FTC says this is the first time it has taken action against individual influencers. The regulator also announces that a warning has been sent to 21 other American influencers. This was done in response to an educational letter that was sent to 90 influencers at the beginning of this year. The letter contained guidelines on the disclosure of interests.