Valve being sued for “illegal/underage gambling”

[Four20 72]

"A Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player filed suit against Valve today, accusing the game maker of allowing an "illegal online gambling market" to spring up and propagate around the popular online shooter.

Valve Corporation, the suit says, "knowingly allowed ... and has been complicit in creating, sustaining and facilitating [a] market" where players and third-parties trade weapon skins like casino chips." - Link

The knitty grittys of the case

We've all kinda knew it was coming I guess? It will be interesting to see how this turns out 6 years down the line.

[Ekitai_Hebi 42]

I think it all kinda revolves about their API doesnt it?

It is a grey market after all chances are not much will end up changing if they have to go after all these betting sites aswell.

But to be fair it is about time something like this happens, too many skids able to bet away their parents credit card wich really shouldnt be a thing.

[Four20 72]

In part yes, the API does have a part to play but it's more geared towards the market they have created, enabling underage kids to get in to the gambling life style.

Valve have played this pretty well imo, the way it's structured is very, very smart and I'm sure they had a legal team look at this.(If they didn't I'd be shocked)

The way they get around the term gambling is pretty simple  E.g: You pay $2 for a KEY, this key then opens a ITEM. You always get something and never nothing.

The value of the ITEM you get isn't up to Valve but rather other users. This is why you could spent $2 on a KEY and get an ITEM that could range from $0.02 to $50,000+..

The way Valve look at is, every ITEM has the same Value, it's digital media and with in company reports all ITEMs like SKINS have a common basic value.

So they can say they sell you a KEY to can trade for an ITEM of the same value every time.

It's the user base that put value on SKINS/ITEMs not Valve.

It's also kinda like how warehouse raves get around having no liquor license, they sell tokens and the tokens can be used to trade for beer (Strange loop holes n' shit)

[Finnley 565]

17 hours ago, ๖ۣۜMr.Nice♥ said:

I'm sure they had a legal team look at this.

This is the first thing I thought off. So I am pretty sure we won't get refunds :P.

Valve's got this, little to nothing is going to change. Maybe some stricter policy for buying skins, because I think you have to be 18 for a lot of the betting/buying websites, but everybody is 18 on the internet.

[Jamie 2,319]

Nothing will come about of this.

[Four20 72]

16 minutes ago, Jamie said:

Nothing will come about of this.

It all depends on how much publicity this gets, if it gains traction I think it could bring about talks to regulate stuff like this. It's all down to how much the public care about this.

[M1nt-l0u 1,235]

I hope they get sued big time. The player base and core of CS has been ruined by idiots who care only about the colour of their weapon, and not how the use them. The whole culture has become disgustingly capitalistic, generating its own movement for streamers and rich kids around our world. I want to see an end to it, I want to see and end to the people who are cashing in by exploiting the banks of young people. This whole era of micro-transactions  and aesthetic tokenism needs to be toned down, we need to get back to normality in gaming. Watching a stream of a teenager shouting at his webcam as he opens virtual boxes is scandalous to the gaming community. 

[Fluxy 1,660]

I mean I get what you guys are saying.

 

but like or not without  skins the csgo proscene would legit be half the size it is now. You think about how things like csgolounge have given a huge amount of a people a reason and a drive to watch games and get behind teams to win skins. It's sad, sure but it's unavoidable. 

 

Also, it is gambling sure, so there should be firmer age restrictions on gambling in csgo both with cases and third party sites, but there is no problem with adult streamers. They are taking advantage of a situation to get themselves stupidly rich, that's a pattern that is old as time itself and is not a problem that started or is gonna end with csgo.