Craig Douglas makes football gaming content for YouTube under the name "NepentheZ" YouTube

YouTuber Craig 'NepentheZ' Douglas and business partner Dylan Rigby have been fined £265,000 for promoting an online Fifa gambling ring to children.

Videos directed players to FUTGalaxy, a "social gaming site" with no age restrictions, which allowed minors to place bets around Fifa's in-game events and virtual currency. Douglas, who on Monday changed his plea in court to guilty, was fined £91k, while Rigby was fined £174k in costs and damages.


The pair was charged with advertising unlawful gambling in what was seen as the first case involving betting on video games.

The UK Gambling Commission brought the case against Craig Douglas and Dylan Rigby in September 2016, charging the vloggers with promoting a lottery and advertising unlawful gambling. Douglas had also been charged with inviting children to gamble, whereas Rigby was charged for including the provision of facilities for gambling.

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In a thread on his Twitter account, Douglas addressed the outcome of the court case.

"The worst year of my life concluded today. I have so much to say, but you’ll take whatever judgement you feel needed from the press," Douglas wrote. "I want to thank all of those that have supported me through my journey. I would understand any viewers choice to no longer watch my content.


"I owe a huge apology to my family and close friends for putting them through this process, and appreciate all those that stood by me. I also owe a huge apology and debt of gratitude to my loyal supporters. Even if this is the end of our journey together, I'm grateful."

Douglas added that he will upload a video "in due course" where he plans to speak out about the conviction, but "the facts remain I plead guilty to two charges, and a substantial fine was the outcome."

The Guardian reports that the court heard FUTGalaxy attracted pre-tax profit of about £96k between July 2015 and February 2016. One victim was a 14-year-old boy who lost £586 on the site in a single day.

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"This was one of the most serious cases that has been investigated and prosecuted by the Commission," said Sarah Harrison, UK Gambling Commission chief executive, via statement. "Its gravity is reflected in the significant financial penalties imposed by the Judge."

"The defendants knew that the site was used by children and that their conduct was illegal but they turned a blind eye in order to achieve substantial profits," Harrison continued. "The effect on children of online gambling was rightly described by the Court as 'horrific' and 'serious'. All websites offering gambling facilities in Britain must be licensed; it is the only way in which children and vulnerable people can be protected. This case demonstrates that we will use the full range of our statutory powers to investigate and prosecute individuals and companies who try to operate illegally."

Both vloggers make football gaming content on YouTube. As 'NepentheZ', Douglas has more than 123,000 followers, whereas Rigby owned the now deactivated FUTgalaxy channel. Through this, the pair had been accused of promoting an online gambling site based around Fifa's in-game coins to minors.


The initial charges against Douglas and Rigby followed a longer-term investigation by The Gambling Commission, looking into the rise of video game gambling. There are now several sites offering gamers a chance to play games while putting down cash to win rewards. It is estimated that the global market in betting on video games is now worth as much as £4 billion.

The commission has warned parents that children can be drawn into betting on in-game items, which can be won, traded, sold or used as virtual currency to gamble with or be converted into money’s worth. The Commission’s recent discussion paper on virtual currencies and social gaming points to the rise of digital commodities, such as ‘skins’ which can be won or purchased within the confines of games and can then be used as a form of virtual currency on a growing number of gambling websites.

Gaming YouTubers can wield an extraordinary amount of influence over their fans. PewDiePie, the Swedish YouTuber whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, owns the most-watched channel in the history of the website and was included in this year’s WIRED 100 list. It is thought he can single-handedly determine the success of a game by simply mentioning it in one of his videos.