In 2016, Twitch imposed a lifetime ban on popular CS:GO streamer James "Phantoml0rd" Varga; the reason for the ban was not disclosed, and Twitch only announced that the channel had been shut down "due to a violation of the terms of service," but it was widely believed that the ban was related to allegations that he was the CS: GO's skin gambling site CSGOShuffle, and was widely believed to be related to allegations that he was also the owner of CSGOShuffle, which he heavily promoted on his channel.

In 2018, Varga filed a lawsuit against Twitch, claiming that Twitch suspended his channel and terminated his contract without providing the necessary explanation as to why. The lawsuit alleged that Varga was never notified in writing of the contractually mandated breach and the opportunity to remedy it, and that his suspension resulted from "baseless and false accusations directed at Varga by a third party, which accusations were the culmination of an effort to publicly defame Varga and exploit his popularity."

The complaint alleged.

According to the complaint, Varga was not informed of the reason for his suspension until January 2017, when he was told by a Twitch employee that it was due to channel subscriber fraud. However, they were later told that the real problem was that they were distributing a large amount of non-gaming content, including CS:GO skin gambling, which violates content guidelines.

Twitch filed a counterclaim several months later, stating that Varga had in fact been warned of the violations numerous times in the roughly year prior to the suspension. He also stated that Varga had a relationship with CSGOShuffle and that "he (1) had an undisclosed financial interest, (2) used the jackpots obtained from Twitch to rig the jackpots in his favor against users, (3) violated the terms of the underlying game's publishers, and (4) (4) streaming promotions on gambling sites that were operating and potentially illegal."

Three years later, the matter finally came to an end, and the winner was Varga: the jury ruled that Twitch had "unreasonably interfered with Varga's right to the benefits of the partnership agreement" and that Varga had been damaged by that interference.

As a result, Varga was ordered to pay $15,139.34 in lost profits for the 30 days following the suspension, plus $3,060 in lost donations and $2,521 in lost sponsorship and endorsement agreements, for a total of $20,720.34. In a 2019 stream he is a far cry from the $35 million to which he said he felt entitled, but it's better than being poked in the eye with a sharp stick.

Despite his enthusiasm, it's almost a symbolic victory for Varga: Twitch made it clear in a statement that it would not pave the way for his return to Twitch. The streaming site said its mistake was purely procedural and that it had changed its process for suspending and terminating streamer accounts.

"The jury found Twitch liable for failing to follow proper procedures to terminate Mr. Varga's contract after it was suspended, and the damages reflect the scope of this mistake, specifically compensation for lost revenue during the 30-day notice period ($20,720)." A Twitch spokesperson said in an email. 'While we regret any procedural irregularities related to Mr. Varga's termination in 2016, he repeatedly violated Twitch's community guidelines and exposed our community to harmful content. We absolutely support the decision to suspend Mr. Varga's account.

"Since then, we have updated our Contributor License Agreement (CLA) to establish a clearer and more consistent process for suspension and account termination and to ensure clarity and consistency in our procedures for all Twitch creators.

Incidentally, Twitch's counterclaim against Varga was dismissed: the jury found that Varga knowingly violated the Terms of Service and made false statements to Twitch, but found that Twitch did not "reasonably rely on Varga's representations." " Interestingly, it also turns out that Varga did indeed disclose the facts related to the June 2016 CSGOShuffle giveaway to Twitch, and that his disclosure was not "deceptive."

We have contacted Varga for more information and will update if we hear back.