Valve’s problem with people using Counter Strike: Global Offensive skins to gamble is far from over. The US state of Washington’s Gambling Commission has threatened to bring possible criminal action against the game developer if it fails to take additional steps to clamp down on the issue.
To date, Valve has sent over 40 cease-and-desist notices to CSGO betting sites. The company has also issued multiple statements in an attempt to distance itself from these third party betting platforms.
However, Steam’s community trading function still facilitates using CSGO skins as bets; which is why the Gambling Commission is still unhappy with the situation. According to the notice, Valve has until 14 Oct to respond with “how it is in full compliance with Washington’s gambling laws or it will risk having the Gambling Commission take additional civil or criminal action.”
Valve’s problems started back in July, when a class action lawsuit was brought against the company by people who had lost money betting using CSGO skins. While the suit was quickly dismissed by the courts, the issue of eSports betting became a hot topic among federal regulators.
Interestingly enough, only CSGO has been mentioned in the proceedings; despite Dota 2 skins also being treated as collateral for placing wagers. It might only be a matter of time before Valve has to completely overhaul its concept of skins to comply with US regulations. That is assuming that no other countries begin looking into this.
[Source: Polygon]
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