UK Gambling Commission files first charges against eSports betting promoters

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has launched the the nation’s first legal action involving eSports betting.

On Friday, the BBC reported that Essex residents Craig Douglas and Dylan Rigby have been charged with promoting a lottery and advertising unlawful gambling. The pair made a brief appearance in Birmingham Magistrates’ Court and will have a followup hearing on Oct. 14.

The charges, which also include inciting individuals under the age of 18 to gamble, were brought by the UKGC. In August, the UKGC announced that betting licenses were required for any website that provides “a service designed to facilitate the making or accepting of bets between others.’

Douglas (pictured, not wearing hat), known as Nepenthez on YouTube, publishes videos on online games to his 1.3m subscribers, with an emphasis on EA Sports’ FIFA product. Douglas’ videos include the promotion of sites that offer betting using a virtual currency known as FIFA Coins.