CSGO Lotto settles FTC’s first lawsuit against social media influencers

Trevor Martin and Thomas Cassell, and their company CSGO Lotto Inc., have settled a lawsuit charging them with failing to tell people that they were owners and officers of CSGO Lotto Inc. when they promoted its online gambling service, csgolotto.com.

Under the laws about truth in advertising, they should have told their followers, the Federal Trade Commission said. And they should have told their followers clearly – just like they do when they explain the video games they play. Their followers may have felt differently about their recommendations to use csgolotto.com if they had known Martin and Cassell were behind the website.

“Consumers need to know when social media influencers are being paid or have any other material connection to the brands endorsed in their posts,” FTC Acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen said Wednesday. “This action, the FTC’s first against individual influencers, should send a message that such connections must be clearly disclosed so consumers can make informed purchasing decisions.”

The FTC said that staff also has sent warning letters to 21 social media influencers it contacted earlier this year about their Instagram posts.

Beginning in late 2015, Martin, Cassell, and their company, CSGOLotto Inc., operated and advertised the csglotto.com website, according to the FTC. The CSGO Lotto name was based on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, also known as “CS: GO,” an online multi-player, first-person shooter game. The game uses collectible virtual items called “skins” that can be used to cover weapons in distinctive patterns. Skins can be bought, sold, and traded for real money. CSGO Lotto enabled consumers to gamble, using skins as virtual currency.

Martin is the company’s president and Cassell is its vice president. Each posted YouTube videos of themselves gambling on their website and encouraging others to use the service. Martin’s videos had titles such as, “HOW TO WIN $13,000 IN 5 MINUTES (CS-GO Betting)” and “$24,000 COIN FLIP (HUGE CSGO BETTING!) + Giveaway.”

Cassell posted videos with titles such as “INSANE KNIFE BETS! (CS:GO Betting)” and “ALL OR NOTHING! (CS:GO Betting),” the lawsuit alleges. Cassell’s videos promoting the CSGO Lotto website were viewed more than 5.7 million times. Martin and Cassell allegedly also promoted the site on Twitter without adequately disclosing their connection to CSGO Lotto.

See The FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People are Asking for information on the disclosures influencers need to make. The video above also provides information.

Related articles

EPA launches first limits on U.S. carbon emissions

Recall of the Week: Chrysler vehicles due to hacking vulnerabilities

Why hospitals are making patients sicker