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Features
2016/08

CS: GO Gaming Lawsuit Includes James “Phantomlord” Varga, CSGO Shuffle

Originally some people may have heard about the class action lawsuit being filed against Trevor “TmarTn” Martain and his partner in crime Thomas “ProSyndicate” Cassell and their CS: GO Lotto gambling ring, along with Valve for enabling the gambling for so long without regulation. However, in a recent report it’s been made clear that YouTuber and streamer James “Phantomlord” Varga and CSGO Shuffle have also been added to the mix.

For those of you unfamiliar with James “Phantomlord” Varga and CSGO Shuffle, it was one of the sites that he was associated with along with CSGOjackpot. This was revealed in a report by e-sports journalist Richard Lewis after chatlogs had been leaked that showed connections between Varga and the gambling websites.

Valve had originally missed out on CSGO Shuffle and CSGOjackpot in their cease and desist letter that went out to various Counter-Strike: Global Offensive gambling sites, but it appears as if the law firms Jones Ward PLC operating from out of Louisville, Kentucky, Paul C. Whalen PC from Manhasset, New York, and Tousley Brain Stephens PLLC from Seattle, Washington, did not miss those sites.

In fact, Richard Lewis did another video report that updated the community about the progress of the lawsuit that has been filed against Valve and a number of gambling site operators and gambling sites that many feel were misleading in service operations as well as targeting minors.

Lewis managed to get in a short interview with Jasper D. Ward IV from Jones Ward PLC who explained that they’re trying to get as many different people from as many different states to join in on the class action suit against the YouTubers and the online gambling rings for potentially breaching both state and federal laws.

None of the suits that allowed gamers to gamble on skins in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive had obtained gambling licenses from the districts in which they operated, and many tried to skirt the law by circumventing due process.

Lewis points to the recent press publication on Legal Newsline that covered the lawsuit’s recent advancement, which includes 30 plaintiffs from across the country.

Jasper Ward explained to Lewis that since a lot of kids under the age of 18 have been targeted by the gambling rings, they themselves cannot reach out directly to the law firms but they can have their parents reach out and get in contact with the lawyers spearheading the suit.

You can find out more by visiting Jonesward.com or by contacting them directly at csgolawsuit[at]jonesward.com.

They plan on taking the suit to trial by jury and they seek damages and restitution of all monies that were “wrongfully obtained”.

It will be interesting to see how this suit plays out, especially given how brazen and arrogant some of these YouTubers have been after they were called out for their lack of disclosure and ties to potentially illegal gambling rings.

And yes, the FTC is also well aware of all of this taking place, which may have completely separate ramifications on the YouTubers and their business partners.

(Main image courtesy of Infinity_Guardian)

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