Twitch counter-sues streamer banned for gambling, inappropriate conduct

Twitch has filed a counter-suit against a former partnered streamer banned for on-stream gambling in 2015. The streamer in question, James "Phantoml0rd" Varga, initially sued Twitch over the ban last month.

As a Twitch partner, Varga primarily streamed Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. His streams were very popular, with over one million followers prior to his ban. In July of 2016, he was banned following multiple suspensions for violations of Twitch's overall Terms of Service and its Partner-specific terms.

His primary offense was streaming gambling content from a website called CSGOShuffle, where he would gamble to win CS:GO skins and show off his wins on-stream. Gambling content violated Twitch's terms, but a second accusation against Varga escalated the problem. Allegedly, Varga was one of the owners of the site, and had been gambling with in-house currency with rigged odds.

In addition, Twitch warned Varga for violations of its policy against "sexually suggestive content, content involving self-harm, and content involving racist symbols."

Varga sued Twitch nearly two years after the ban, claiming that the ban subjected him to "significant monetary damages" and damage to his reputation. Per his complaint, Twitch did not provide a concrete reason for his suspension. He also continues to deny ownership of CSGOShuffle.

Twitch's countersuit attempts to invalidate Varga's suit by citing multiple, specific conversations with Varga about the nature of his violations of the Terms of Service. In addition, Twitch seeks finanicial compensation for damages incurred from the breach of contract, fraud, and Varga's "negligent misrepresentation" of his affiliation with CSGOShuffle.