{"id":77736,"date":"2018-05-15T15:00:13","date_gmt":"2018-05-15T22:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=77736"},"modified":"2018-05-17T07:18:45","modified_gmt":"2018-05-17T14:18:45","slug":"twitch-countersues-controversial-counter-strike-streamer-james-phantonl0rd-varga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/twitch-countersues-controversial-counter-strike-streamer-james-phantonl0rd-varga\/","title":{"rendered":"Twitch Countersues Controversial Counter Strike Streamer, James ‘Phantonl0rd’ Varga"},"content":{"rendered":"

Twitch Interactive is counter-suing the \u201ccelebrity\u201d Counter-Strike: Global Offensive<\/em> streamer it kicked off its platform in 2016 for promoting skins gambling<\/a>, rigging contests, and failing to disclose co-ownership of the site he promoted.<\/p>\n

\"Twitch
CS:GO Twitch celebrity James \u201cPhantoml0rd\u201d Varga sued the platform in February for breach of contract after it deleted his account but Twitch is suing him back and it wants damages. (Image: YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

James \u201cPhantoml0rd\u201d Varga filed suit<\/a> against the video games-streaming giant in February, claiming Twitch had \u201cillegally terminated\u201d his account, which had 1.3 million followers, giving no written explanation for its deletion.<\/p>\n

Varga alleged he was “permitted to broadcast the very content that they later used as an excuse to illegally terminate his contract.” He demanded the reinstatement of his account, claiming breach of contract.<\/p>\n

Deception Exposed<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Twitch pulled the plug on the Phantonl0rd channel when Varga\u2019s ownership interest in the skins gambling site CSGOShuffle was exposed by gaming journalist Richard Lewis.<\/p>\n

\n

Lewis had been sent a dossier by an anonymous hacker showing that not only was Varga a part-owner of the site he promoted but also that he had asked to be sent the results of spins before they happened.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The dossier contained 20,000 private Skype messages between Varga and Duhau Joris, a programmer at CS:GOShuffle.<\/p>\n

Twitch\u2019s suit claims that, far from failing to provide an explanation, it had contacted Varga repeatedly throughout 2006, warning him that promoting skins gambling was a violation of its terms and conditions, but was repeatedly ignored.<\/p>\n

It also noted that Varga waited 600 days from the termination of his account before filing suit.<\/p>\n

Scams, Misinformation and Fraud<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cMr. Varga never disclosed to Twitch\u2019s users that he had an ownership interest in CSGOShuffle and therefore misrepresented his financial interest in the Skins Giveaway he was promoting on his Twitch channel,\u201d states the Twitch lawsuit. \u201cMr. Varga\u2019s failure to disclose his ownership interest violated, among other things, Twitch\u2019s Rules of Conduct prohibiting scams, misinformation and defrauding others.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Twitch is informed and believes that Mr. Varga also used his ownership interest in CSGOShuffle to rig results in his favor, using results generated by the CSGO algorithm to rig the outcome of lottery jackpots,\u201d it continues.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Twitch\u2019s terms and conditions prohibit, among other things, \u201ccontent that is unlawful, fraudulent \u2026 or otherwise objectionable\u201d and using \u201cthe Twitch service for any illegal purpose, in violation of any local, state, or national law.\u201d<\/p>\n

CSGOShuffle was forced to close after it received a cease and desist notice from Counter Strike developer Valve. The developer was forced to crack down on the multi-billion-dollar gambling industry that had sprung up around skins, the cosmetic digital items found in loot boxes in Counter Strike: Global Offensive.<\/p>\n

Twitch is seeking an unspecified amount of damages from Varga, a resident of Las Vegas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Twitch Interactive is counter-suing the \u201ccelebrity\u201d Counter-Strike: Global Offensive streamer it kicked off its platform in 2016 for promoting skins gambling, rigging contests, and failing to disclose co-ownership of the site he promoted. James \u201cPhantoml0rd\u201d Varga filed suit against the video games-streaming giant in February, claiming Twitch had \u201cillegally terminated\u201d his account, which had 1.3 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":77742,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,3312,19,60],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTwitch Countersues Controversial Counter Strike Streamer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Twitch countersues CS:GO streamer James \u201cPhantonl0rd\u201d Varga for breaching its terms and conditions over his promotion, rigging, and undeclared ownership of skins-gambling site CSGOShuffle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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