YouTube's Biggest Stars Are Pushing a Shady Polish Gambling Site (thedailybeast.com)

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

YouTube's Biggest Stars Are Pushing a Shady Polish Gambling Site (thedailybeast.com)

Posted by BeauHD on Friday January 4, 2019 @12:10PM from the shrouded-in-mystery dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Daily Beast: Untold riches are promised on Mystery Brand, a website that sells prize-filled "mystery boxes." If you buy one of the digital boxes, some of which cost hundreds of dollars, you might only get a fidget spinner -- or you might get a luxury sports car. For just $100, users can win a box filled with rare Supreme streetwear. For only $12.99, they can win a Lamborghini, or even a $250 million mega-mansion billed as "the most expensive Los Angeles realty." Or at least that's what some top YouTubers have been telling their young fans about the gambling site -- with the video stars apparently seeing that as a gamble worth taking, especially after a dip in YouTube advertising rates.

Over the past week, hugely popular YouTube stars like Jake Paul and Bryan "Ricegum" Le have encouraged their fans to spend money on Mystery Brand, a previously little-known site that appears to be based in Poland. In their videos, Paul and Le show themselves betting hundreds of dollars on the site for a chance to open a digital "box." At first, they win only low-value prizes like fidget spinners or Converse sneakers. By the end of the video, though, they have won thousands of dollars worth of tech and clothing, like rare pairs of sneakers or Apple AirPods. If they like the prize, the YouTube stars have it shipped to their house. The gambling site doesn't list the owner or location where it's based, although the site's terms of service say it's "subject to the laws and jurisdiction of Poland." To make matters worse, users of the site might not even receive the items they believed they have won. "During using the services of the website You may encounter circumstances in which Your won items will not be received," the terms of service reads.

Also, while the ToS say that underage users are ineligible to receive prizes, many of the YouTubers promoting the site have audiences who are underage. "[Jake Paul], for example, has acknowledged that the bulk of his fanbase is between 8 and 15 years old," reports The Daily Beast.

97 comments

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Me and my llama by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 12:11 · Score: 0

we're going to the dentist today.
Those YT "stars" are scummy themselves by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 12:15 · Score: 0

Both Jake Paul and Ricegum are scumbags.
Right! by Locke2005 · 2019-01-04 12:17 · Score: 4, Insightful

There is NO WAY this could POSSIBLY be a scam! There is no way the people who got a Lamborghini for $13 are actually paid actors!

--
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
1. Re:Right! by zlives · 2019-01-04 12:29 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  i don't know, my shelf is full of cars i got for less than 13$s
2. Re:Right! by rmdingler · 2019-01-04 12:38 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Perhaps we should give the product-hawking celebrities the benefit of the doubt... and a bonus anti-tiger rock for their trouble.
  
  --
  Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
  Ernest Hemingway
3. Re:Right! by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 12:44 · Score: 0
  
  This. Product-hawking celebrities are among the most trustworthy people on Earth.
4. Re: Right! by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 15:27 · Score: 0
  
  product hawking celebs like mike ditka and tom selleck are puke-worthy
5. Re:Right! by SuricouRaven · 2019-01-05 01:25 · Score: 2
  
  But what sort of scam? there are many types. The advertising is almost certainly a scam, yes - but what of the site itsself? Is it an outright scam where no prizes of value are ever won, ever? Or is it merely the acceptable scam of gambling, where the big prizes are won, but only incredibly rarely?
6. Re:Right! by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-05 04:14 · Score: 0
  
  Well, just look a year back when a site like this was going in the CS:GO community and scamming people. There is a reason we have laws around gambling and contests because there is along history of people secretly manipulating the odds or clandestinely awarding prizes to their friends.
7. Re:Right! by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · 2019-01-05 05:55 · Score: 1
  
  It' similar to those late-night "auction" web sites where you pay a dollar to make a bid that will almost certainly fail. The accumulation of bid dollars is what pays for the product -- they even reserve the right to cancel the "auction" if they don't get enough $1 bids.
  It is mathematically gambling through and through.
  
  --
  (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
8. Re:Right! by SuricouRaven · 2019-01-05 06:38 · Score: 1
  
  I actually can envision ways to rig the advertising without paying actors. But paying is probably a lot easier. For example, I could hire someone to monitor Twitch or YouTube live streams for people playing on the site, then correlate their wins with the real-time logs from the server to identify their accounts, and tag those accounts as 'highly visible people' so they get a guaranteed win. It's a lot of effort though, so it'd be easier to just find some unscrupulous mid-tier streamers and bribe them.
9. Re:Right! by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-05 14:15 · Score: 0
  
  13$s
  Who the fuck writes American currency like this except illiterate morons?
10. Re:Right! by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-06 06:19 · Score: 0
  
  A lot easier to just say:
  "Hey use this promo account the bet on 10 items including at least these 5 packs."
  Then set the payout rate to be increased for that account.
11. Re:Right! by Locke2005 · 2019-01-07 06:50 · Score: 1
  
  Granted, that's not the custom, but we say "13 dollars", not "dollars 13", so the custom is technically backwards!
  
  --
  I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
12. Re:Right! by Locke2005 · 2019-01-07 06:52 · Score: 1
  
  Was Stephen Hawking a product-hawking celebrity?
  
  --
  I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
13. Re:Right! by zlives · 2019-01-07 07:58 · Score: 1
  
  just breaking the chains of tradition one $ sign at a time :)
14. Re:Right! by rmdingler · 2019-01-07 11:33 · Score: 1
  
  Hmmmm...Yes indeed, if science can be considered a product.
  Sadly, the price he asked was too high for many, since to benefit, you had to be willing to pay attention.
  
  --
  Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
  Ernest Hemingway
This should be illegal by jonwil · 2019-01-04 12:18 · Score: 2

Online gambling is already illegal in the US, why is it not illegal to run ads for it? YouTube should be pushed into adding a clause to their terms of service that prevents anyone from running ads or sponsors for things that are otherwise illegal.
1. Re:This should be illegal by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 12:20 · Score: 0
  
  YT could kick them for that as a TOS violation. If people make enough stink over this I bet they would.
2. Re:This should be illegal by Calydor · 2019-01-04 12:20 · Score: 2
  
  Pretty sure that is already in the ToS, and this is going to backfire HARD.
  
  --
  -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
3. Re:This should be illegal by spagthorpe · 2019-01-04 12:23 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  They could, but they won't; because YT makes tons of money on them.
  
  --
  WWJD -- What Would Jimi Do?
  (Smash amp, burn guitar, take home the groupies)
4. Re:This should be illegal by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 12:25 · Score: 0
  
  That's what WOULD happen, if Twitch wasn't making millions of dollars off these guys. They could easily find somewhere else to stream. Slap on the wrist is all you're going to get.
5. Re:This should be illegal by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 12:32 · Score: 0
  
  YT makes tons and tons and tons of money without them. If they're big enough cunts to become a liability that cuts into other sectors or draws regulators eyeballs... you don't know what they'll do, but it will be swift & apropos.
6. Re: This should be illegal by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 14:02 · Score: 0
  
  It's not illegal to advertise a legal service, unless a law specifically prohibits advertising that service. It's ok to advertise an activity which is legal in one location to people who live where that activity isn't allowed.
  Back to the article, no idea who these clowns are or what metric is used to justify the claim that they're the biggest youtube stars.
7. Re:This should be illegal by sd4f · 2019-01-04 14:33 · Score: 2
  
  The problem is this is a bigger chestnut to crack than it may seems. Loot boxes have crept into many games, and ultimately it is gambling, but what has been really insidious about it is that it targets children. What this OP mentions, has already happened on Counter-Strike, with certain youtubers promoting their own scam sites for in game items/skins. Just go on youtube and look up any number of unlock videos, there's heaps. People don't bother playing the game, rather they want to just try to unlock digital art work.
  Valve has a lot to answer for with this, because they certainly put in a lot of effort into targeting kids with gambling. Until something happens to regulate Valve, their platform Steam, and their games, then nothing is being done about it.
8. Re: This should be illegal by astrofurter · 2019-01-04 17:02 · Score: -1, Redundant
  
  Yay, more censorship, yay! Big Brother Google is gonna save us from ourselves!!
9. Re:This should be illegal by F.Ultra · 2019-01-04 17:12 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  I really wonder if the TOS with "During using the services of the website You may encounter circumstances in which Your won items will not be received" is actually legal in Poland to begin with.
10. Re:This should be illegal by Can'tNot · 2019-01-04 17:16 · Score: 2
  
  Because this doesn't count as gambling. There are a huge number of products which do this now, from video games to legos. Here is a popular line of dolls which does the same thing. The key, the thing which distinguishes this from gambling, is that you always get some kind of prize. Gambling is specifically defined as a possibility to lose your money, not to get something less valuable than you wanted. As long as you always get something with non-zero value, then it doesn't count as gambling.
11. Re:This should be illegal by Igmuth · 2019-01-04 17:29 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  So, as long as the casino always gives you a penny, or even a just shiny rock back on each bet, it's not gambling?
12. Re:This should be illegal by RedMagic · 2019-01-04 18:01 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  For the record: online gambling in Poland is also illegal.
13. Re:This should be illegal by Can'tNot · 2019-01-04 18:22 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Well you don't call them bets, but that's the right idea. Call them lootboxes, or prize packs or something. You might also want to stay away from using money as prizes, since a loss in that case can be easily quantified in court. You'd also probably do better with this if you weren't a casino, which are readily identified with gambling, so that you could claim that this an alternative business model rather than just gambling by another name.
14. Re:This should be illegal by RedMagic · 2019-01-04 19:05 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  The full text of that TOS paragraph says: 9. DRAWBACKS AND DEFECTS 9.1. During using the services of the website You may encounter circumstances in which Your won items will not be received. In this case, the Web site will make every effort to resolve this situation and try as soon as possible to resolve Your problem. The maximum term of consideration of the defect/error is 45 working days. So, as far as I understand, it's just an explanation of how they'll handle issues with delivery of the prizes (if not particularly convincing). Clearly a translation, not something written up by an English native. And as for Poland, contracts must be fulfilled -- obviously, so it's not legal for someone to declare "oh, you may not receive the items we promised".
15. Re:This should be illegal by ISayWeOnlyToBePolite · 2019-01-04 19:16 · Score: 1
  
  Online gambling is already illegal in the US, why is it not illegal to run ads for it? YouTube should be pushed into adding a clause to their terms of service that prevents anyone from running ads or sponsors for things that are otherwise illegal.
  The legalese concerning online gambling isn't that simple https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... (additional state laws may apply).
16. Re:This should be illegal by citizenr · 2019-01-04 19:32 · Score: 1
  
  Its also illegal as fuck in Poland.
  
  --
  Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
17. Re:This should be illegal by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 20:22 · Score: 0
  
  Gambling is specifically defined as a possibility to lose your money, not to get something less valuable than you wanted.
  No it isn't. You pulled that out your ass.
18. Re:This should be illegal by rsmith-mac · 2019-01-04 21:38 · Score: 2
  
  So long as you can't then immediately use that item as currency to make a new bet, yeah, there's a legitimately good chance that would pass legal muster right now.
19. Re:This should be illegal by thegarbz · 2019-01-04 22:19 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  You're comparing them to things that are being classified as gambling and are being banned the world over.
  Saying it's "not gambling, it's like lootboxes" is the equivalent of saying "it's not gambling, it's gambling" in pretty much every country which has had a legal inquiry into the practice.
20. Re: This should be illegal by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 22:21 · Score: 0
  
  But you can do that
21. Re:This should be illegal by Can'tNot · 2019-01-04 22:45 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  To my knowledge, the only country which has done anything like what you're describing is Belgium. When you say, "in pretty much every country," which countries are you referring to, exactly?
  
  In the United States I believe that the legal precedent was set quite some time ago over baseball cards, which are functionally equivalent to loot boxes / prize packs / etc. That's a vague recollection though, I would not be able to cite that case.
22. Re:This should be illegal by AmiMoJo · 2019-01-04 22:46 · Score: 2
  
  I dunno, they have sanctioned Logan Paul in the past, dropping him from their premium services and suspending his ad revenue temporarily. He's hardly the only one either, they have closed lots of popular, high revenue channels. Especially those aimed at children, like those creepy Spiderman/Elsa videos.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
23. Re: This should be illegal by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-05 04:47 · Score: 0
  
  In some countries, surprisingly, yes...
24. Re:This should be illegal by thegarbz · 2019-01-05 05:52 · Score: 2
  
  To my knowledge, the only country which has done anything like what you're describing is Belgium
  That's okay, knowledge can be built on:
  Belgium - banned.
  Netherlands - actively called out what components of it make it gambling and some of the industry has responded by customising how it works in the NL.
  UK - not banned but formally recognised as a form of gambling by the UK gambling commission. On hearing this the Isle of Man banned them.
  Australia - regulated under gambling laws but recognised difficulty in enforcement.
  China - regulated under gambling laws.
  Japan - banned.
  South Korea - regulated under gambling laws.
  Singapore - banned.
  France - Star Wars Battlefront II's loot boxes were deemed not to be gambling, but the decision noted that it does not apply to any other game.
  Sweden - Tabled a law to regulate them as a lottery.
  
  In the United States I believe that the legal precedent was set quite some time ago over baseball cards
  The United States has not yet looked into loot boxes and the nature of gambling laws mean that individual iteration of loot boxes needs to be individually assessed. The FTC is in the process of doing that now for some games. We covered this on Slashdot.
25. Re:This should be illegal by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · 2019-01-05 06:00 · Score: 1
  
  That communist Harvard guy claims the stock market is gambling and should be illegal.
  
  --
  (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
26. Re:This should be illegal by Can'tNot · 2019-01-05 06:11 · Score: 1
  
  I don't know the particulars of all of these, but loot boxes are certainly not banned in Japan. There was a new rule saying that companies had to disclose exactly what was available and with what probability, so they're no longer quite the mystery boxes that they used to be, but loot boxes are still going strong there.
27. Re:This should be illegal by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-05 07:59 · Score: 0
  
  YouTube should not block something worldwide just because it is banned in the USA. If it had to ban everything illegal everywhere it would just be videos of cats and dogs making friends rather than mostly that and ones of how much the latest Star Wars sucks. Block based on location at most.
28. Re:This should be illegal by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-05 12:35 · Score: 0
  
  For the record: online gambling in Poland is also illegal.
  Is it? The licensing was seriously restricted a few years back and came into action last year. Cherry AB (ComeOn) were given a license a while back and apparently run: https://www.pzbuk.pl/sportsbook
29. Re:This should be illegal by thegarbz · 2019-01-05 23:55 · Score: 1
  
  I don't know the particulars of all of these, but loot boxes are certainly not banned in Japan. There was a new rule saying that companies had to disclose exactly what was available and with what probability, so they're no longer quite the mystery boxes that they used to be, but loot boxes are still going strong there.
  There were no new rules, in fact no changes in rules or laws at all. The lootbox concept was analysed and a legal opinion was issued determining that they constitute gambling. Most companies then removed the features https://www.japantimes.co.jp/l....
  Just because some companies skirt the laws (as online gambling companies tend to do) it doesn't change the underlying principle that the practice was banned.
30. Re:This should be illegal by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-06 01:13 · Score: 0
  
  Double or Something
31. Re: This should be illegal by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-06 17:08 · Score: 0
  
  There's one solution to the gambling problem, which is probably too easy for most people to accept: take away the credit cards from children.
Site is a reskinned VALVE production by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 12:30 · Score: -1

After the owner of Steam was warned the US government was going to clamp down on his ILLEGAL aimed at children online gambling sites (which Gabe Newell had spend hundreds of millions creating), Gabe shut down these services almost overnight, and left the FAKE child owners of these sites, who also acted as influencers on Youtube, blowing in the wind. One such child influencer, who went by the name McSkillet, murdered two people when he chose to commit suicide by auto crash.
It is now clear that Valve has sold on the code assets to various East Europe crime gangs, who are now working with even more significant Google influencers to sell the services.
Google, the R+D arm of the NSA, wins all ways. Its reputation, like that of the BBC, is protected by the Deep State for which it works, so cannot be damaged. In the meantime Google both profits from the direct criminality, and profits from any coming legal backlash, because Google wants MORE ability to censor anti-Deep State voices on Youtube.
Once Google pretty much could not censor any Youtube content, and anti-statist comment had a powerful presence on the site. The so-called ad-opaclypse, which allowed Google to end the ad-based payment for any channel making the 'wrong' kind of content, followed by the 'Alex Jones' psy-op which allowed the outright banning of anti-war channels, have allowed Youtube to shape itself ever more to NSA wishes.
The 'scandal' over Google influencers pushing gambling sites repurposing Valve's software (after Valve could no longer directly use it themsleves) will allow further censorship on Google, all of it aimed at voices feared/despised by the Deep state- excused by "won't you think of the children".
Now isn't it time for Slashdot to publish more stories demonising Russia and Iran?
1. Re: Site is a reskinned VALVE production by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 13:38 · Score: 0
  
  You wot mate?
Polish? by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 12:31 · Score: 0

How does one gamble on polish?
How shining something could be? Or how shady/...I get it!
"I bet you can't see a neutral gray card after that polish!"
Seriously by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 12:35 · Score: 0

Youtube needs to make an example of these scumbags. Getting kids to gamble is lowest of the low.
Remember penny auctions? by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 12:37 · Score: 0

Remember those shady penny auction sites where you could supposedly buy a TV for 10 bucks, but had to pay for each bid and basically never won anything? This sounds really similar...
1. Re:Remember penny auctions? by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 15:37 · Score: 0
  
  Remember those shady penny auction sites where you could supposedly buy a TV for 10 bucks, but had to pay for each bid and basically never won anything? This sounds really similar...
  People "won" crap on those penny auctions though.
  $250 on sale on Amazon junk brand HDTV... marked up to $1999 bogus MSRP. Then charged $40-$100 S&H ($20 actual).
  Bids cost $1 to make, non-refundable, and increment the bid price by a penny. By the time the bid reaches $10.00, people have already spent $1000 in bid fees for something Amazon would have delivered for $250 or so.
  The fact that many of those sites are frequented by suspiciously "lucky" associates is because the cons that run them are short sighted and overly greedy. They are there to find the suckers who are bad at statistics and turn them into compulsive gamblers.
$13 what about $0.75 CAR CAR CAR slots? by Joe_Dragon · 2019-01-04 12:38 · Score: 2

$13 what about $0.75 CAR CAR CAR slots?
Pollotically Correct by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 12:38 · Score: 0

Shady? It's not like a bunch of Pollocks run it ... oh, wait
1. Re: Pollotically Correct by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 15:55 · Score: 0
  
  Are polish people shady? Where on earth is that a stereotype?
2. Re:Pollotically Correct by arglebargle_xiv · 2019-01-04 16:21 · Score: 1
  
  Shady? It's not like a bunch of Pollocks run it ... oh, wait
  So it's just another phishing scam?
Fools and their money by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 12:44 · Score: -1

"It is a crime not to separate a fool from his money."
If you can't smell the problem here from across oceans, you deserve to be separated from your cash. People have to have just a little responsibility for themselves.
Who? by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 12:46 · Score: 5, Insightful

Yet more YouTube "stars" that I've never heard of before this article.
1. Re: Who? by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 18:10 · Score: -1
  
  Lol if you donâ(TM)t know jake Paul you probably donâ(TM)t know any YouTube stars at all. Why are you posting on a subject youâ(TM)re completely ignorant about?
2. Re:Who? by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 21:22 · Score: 0
  
  What do these stars even do? Do they have some kind of reality show for kids? I wonder, if their stardom is created by click bots just to get visibility for their scams?
3. Re:Who? by thegarbz · 2019-01-04 22:22 · Score: 1
  
  Yet more YouTube "stars" that I've never heard of before this article.
  Do you know all the stars around the world on various platforms? I'm sure there's plenty more for you to discover out there. The internet is a big place with lots of people on them. You should start keeping a list.
  By the way what's with the use of the quotes? Angry jealousy that someone like "Ricegum" has over 10 million subscribers and makes an average of $16000 per video he uploads?
Loot boxes by burtosis · 2019-01-04 13:02 · Score: 3, Funny

Now instead of blowing the remaining balance of the last working credit card people have on stupid digital loot boxes that are full of worthless digital items you can blow it all on digital loot boxes that are full of real world worthless items. Jokes on them though, even if you win that mansion or sports car you can't use it without an internet connection.
This is my surprised face by theCat · 2019-01-04 13:08 · Score: 2, Insightful

YouTube is predatory on children. There are is a lot worse than this going on. At least children will have a hard time coming up with big money to blow on these gambling schemes, however, some of the other cr*p they run across is absolutely diabolical.

--
=^..^= all your rodent are belong to us
1. Re:This is my surprised face by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 14:59 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  The number of child traumatizing finger family videos that just come up a few layers deep into whatever I put on for my kid is amazing.
  These people have money and must hate kids deeper than I can imagine for the time and effort being put into it.
  Kids web games are right out once you see how soon they devolve into C-section or infected teeth removal Elsa and all the rest.
  Everyone else gets immediately stomped on for copyright infringement (Soulja Boy will probably walk too), but Youtube and all the media companies seem to have no problem with Spiderman or anything +Hitler murders everyone finger family vids. Then your kid is at daycare and they come home singing finger family they learned from there too.
2. Re:This is my surprised face by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 15:36 · Score: 1
  
  The whole system is predatory. Not just children.
  “If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered.”
  -Thomas Jefferson
3. Re:This is my surprised face by Gravis+Zero · 2019-01-04 15:37 · Score: 2
  
  YouTube is predatory on children. There are is a lot worse than this going on. [...] some of the other cr*p they run across is absolutely diabolical.
  What is some of the diabolical stuff? I'm honestly curious.
  
  --
  Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
4. Re:This is my surprised face by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 17:10 · Score: 0
  
  Youtube is more concerned about alt-right trolls and pro-trump vloggers.
5. Re:This is my surprised face by rsmith-mac · 2019-01-04 21:49 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  I'm assuming the GP is making a reference to Elsagate. (Infographic)
  The best way to describe it is extreme shock content, except intentionally aimed at audiences too young to understand parody and satire. The sheer weirdness of the worst content defies all logical explanation.
6. Re:This is my surprised face by Tapewolf · 2019-01-05 00:26 · Score: 2
  
  These people have money and must hate kids deeper than I can imagine for the time and effort being put into it.
  I would expect at least some of it was created by bored teenagers. Back when I was a member of that demographic I put far too much effort into taking things aimed at younger kids and twisting them into something that would today be called 'edgy' for the amusement of myself and my friends. Henry's Cat exhorting people to join an Irish terror group, Honey Monster from Sugar Puffs being turned into a mafia don, editing a Mah-Jongg christmas tile set so the three kings were assassinating baby Jesus in the crib and so forth.
  It being the early 90s I had no internet access, and the alterations were done crudely with scissors and marker pen (or the Mah-jongg tile editor). Given the kind of content creation software available now, I can easily imagine some of this stuff being created by a 13-year old with pirated software and too much time on their hands.
My favorite by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 14:00 · Score: 0

My favorite YouTube star is creimer.
1. Re:My favorite by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 14:10 · Score: 0
  
  You must have low self-esteem to follow creimer
2. Re: My favorite by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 23:13 · Score: 0
  
  All hail creimer.
Gambling by dohzer · 2019-01-04 14:15 · Score: 2

No need for the word "shady". That's implied by the word "gambling"
PewNews by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 16:18 · Score: 0

I see that The Daily Beast watches pewnews as well.
Neato! by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 17:11 · Score: 0

...loot boxes without the game part!
Hehehehehh...heh....ehh...::raspberry of disapproval and woe::
Illegal by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 17:34 · Score: 0

The gaming commissions of individual states would take issue with this, as you need to be a licensed gambling establishment in most states to advertise gambling services. At least in the states where such is allowed. There are about 10 or so states which do not allow any online gambling or advertisement thereof (or both.)
But to boot, there's Federal fun to go along with this:
The Interstate Wire Act
The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act
So these boys are about to find themselves in a LOT of hot fucking water for what they're doing.
Why? by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 18:22 · Score: 0

Why just Polish gambling sites? Are German sites inferior?
What do you expect? by Chas · 2019-01-04 21:58 · Score: 2, Insightful

You get these guys, they build big on a platform.
Then you start fucking with their money...
So they turn to alternative methods of securing funding.
Occasionally, you get some of them falling for shit like this.

--

Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
1. Re:What do you expect? by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-05 01:08 · Score: 0
  
  People who buy into the website are falling for shit because they think they're going to win big just like every gambler ever. People who are being paid to promote the site aren't falling for the shit, they're just being greedy.
2. Re:What do you expect? by sinij · 2019-01-05 01:21 · Score: 1
  
  You get these guys, they build big on a platform.
  Then you start fucking with their money...
  Spot-on. Youtube is not paying for content creation but profits from it. They are should be held responsible for this.
3. Re:What do you expect? by Chas · 2019-01-05 02:11 · Score: 1
  
  I dunno if I'd go that far.
  Are they at least partly at fault for this?
  Sure. But their part is basically incidental.
  The content creators should have done better due diligence on the gambling site.
  
  --
  
  Chas - The one, the only.
  THANK GOD!!!
4. Re:What do you expect? by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-05 02:12 · Score: 0
  
  Youtube is paying for hosting and distributing billions of hours of content. Maybe if content creators weren't so shitty advertisers would be willing to pay more to run their ads on it?
5. Re:What do you expect? by Chas · 2019-01-05 02:15 · Score: 1
  
  Oh yes. Wanting to earn a living is "greedy". Because all YouTube is, is a HOBBY!
  Sorry, content creation on the YouTube platform for these people is a JOB.
  Why do you think the stink over Patreon is so serious right now? They're fucking with people's livelihoods.
  So when YouTube jacks around, puts videos in limited state, demonetizes videos, etc.
  Those videos don't get produced for free buddy! They always cost SOMEONE.
  Could these content creators have done better due diligence with regard to this gambling outlet?
  Indubitably!
  But simply ascribing it to "greed" shows a deep lack of understanding.
  
  --
  
  Chas - The one, the only.
  THANK GOD!!!
6. Re: What do you expect? by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-05 05:28 · Score: 0
  
  Nope, it's greed. Totally about greed and throwing your audience under a bus to make a buck or two. It's one thing for a celebrity to endorse a product with at least some socially redeeming qualities, but this is quite another thing.
7. Re:What do you expect? by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-05 06:07 · Score: 0
  
  Oh yes. Wanting to earn a living is "greedy". Because all YouTube is, is a HOBBY!
  Sorry, content creation on the YouTube platform for these people is a JOB.
  Why do you think the stink over Patreon is so serious right now? They're fucking with people's livelihoods.
  News flash: Trying to make a leaving with a non-real job is hard, film at 11.
8. Re:What do you expect? by Chas · 2019-01-05 11:46 · Score: 1
  
  Thank you for proving that the only greed here is yours.
  Oh, and jealousy.
  
  --
  
  Chas - The one, the only.
  THANK GOD!!!
9. Re:What do you expect? by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-06 15:05 · Score: 0
  
  They are scum preying on Children.
influencers = ad hookers by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-04 22:09 · Score: 0

For money they'll promote anything.
Polish Gambling? by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-05 01:49 · Score: 0

I'll ante up two turtle waxes and a simoniz
Loot boxes are gambling by SmaryJerry · 2019-01-05 04:57 · Score: 1

This is the essence of loot boxes in games, just with larger prizes.
I Don't Trust The Quickstop And Its Lotto Tickets by Toad-san · 2019-01-05 06:04 · Score: 1

And you expect me to trust some unknown "Youtube star" ?? And an an internet firm in Poland?
Man, there _is_ one born every minute!
PewDiePie (the biggest star) did good on this by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-05 09:20 · Score: 0

He called them out for being a scam in a recent video: https://youtu.be/b_gitOw1TZU
Strike 3 ? by Stan92057 · 2019-01-06 03:53 · Score: 1

Strike 3 for JP?? advertising a gambling site to his acknowledged 8-13 year old audience?

--
Jack of all trades,master of none
Biggest? by Anonymous Coward · 2019-01-06 06:14 · Score: 0

Pretty sure Pewds is still the biggest by every metric, and he is the one calling it out, not shilling this shit site.