A pair of Youtubers from Essex, Craig ‘Nepenthez’ Douglas and Dylan Rigby, both pleaded not guilty at their initial court date on Friday. 
The pair have been charged with offences relating to gambling; that is promoting a lottery and advertising unlawful gambling.
Douglas is also charged with inviting children to gamble via his popular Youtube channel which had 1.3 million subscribers. Videos encouraged the use of sites on which virtual currency in FIFA could be wagered.
Following the hearing at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court the case has now been adjourned until 6 February 2017, at which time the court will hold a hearing which is expected to last a week.
This case is notable as it is believed to be the first of its kind; that is a prosecution relating to gambling on video games. With the drama around Valve and the Washington State Gambling Commission far from played out however, it’s unlikely to be the last.
Esports Insider says: A non guilty plea from the pair means there is now some time before the case will re-emerge in court in February next year. There’ll be a lot of eyes on it when the date rolls around however due to the current unique status of this case.