Valve has issued new guidelines for gambling with skins in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and seems to be enforcing them rigorously. There is now a report on Twitter about a player who has been trading skins in CS:GO (Steam) for 9 years. Valve has permanently banned him from trading cosmetic items. As a result, items worth $185,000 are now worthless.
This is the situation:
- CS:GO is one of the most popular games on Steam and one of the largest games in the world.
- The shooter features cosmetic items: so-called skins. They change the appearance of weapons in the game. The trading of these skins on the marketplace on Steam is so widespread that any skin in CS:GO can be exchanged for cash at any time. It involves tens of thousands of euros.
- For years, there have been betting sites where players can gamble and bet with these skins. While this often seems dubious and respective sites operate out of Antigua – still, the largest e-sport organizations are connected to such sites.
Valve is cleaning up in CS:GO, apparently ahead of Counter-Strike 2:
Steam: Valve bans gambling on May 10 and is enforcing it
This is now the change on Steam: Valve banned “gambling” on Steam on May 10. In the “Steam Online Conduct Code,” the prohibition of “conducting gambling” is now explicitly stated.
This was discovered in the rules on May 10, 2023.
Apparently, Valve has decided to specifically target gambling with skins in CS:GO. Previously, Valve had positioned itself against “business activities,” but now gambling is explicitly mentioned.
Valve removes the ability to trade skins from traders with valuable inventories
These are the effects: A user writes on Twitter that one of his friends has been trading skins in CS:GO for 9 years. He has now been permanently banned from trading with the community.
This means he can still use the skins himself, but he can no longer sell them on the marketplace.
The man has already written 4 tickets but has encountered deaf ears at Valve and can no longer complain.
As the Spanish site 3DJuegos writes, the man owns skins in CS:GO that are worth $200,000 (about €185,000). He has also admitted to using such betting sites in the past.
His ban is now seen as a sign that Valve is seriously taking action against betting sites in CS:GO. There are warnings against engaging with any platform that is not recognized by Valve.
Player loses his valuable account on Steam after 15 years because Valve makes an absurd demand
The title image is a symbolic image: Photo by Firosnv. Photography on Unsplash
