Valve’s Cease and Desist Letter May Shut Down Third-Party Skins Gambling Sites
Last night, Valve issued a cease and desist letter to 23 websites, including csgolounge.com and csgodouble.com, demanding they cease all gambling operations within ten days. Richard Lewis confirmed the authenticity of the letter after speaking directly with Valve. The letter, signed by Valve’s general counsel lawyer, Karl Quackenbush, states that these gambling sites have violated the terms of the Steam Subscriber Agreement, which only allows for personal, non-commercial use. Failure to comply could result in account termination.
The broad range of recipients is surprising, as many believed that Valve’s main concern was sites with randomized outcomes and casino-like features. The inclusion of csgolounge.com suggests that Valve views betting on match outcomes as gambling as well, despite arguments about skill-based games. Notably, some sites like csgoshuffle.com were not included in the letter, and sites that do not use skins as currency, such as unikrn.com, were also not addressed.
With the potential shutdown of skins gambling sites, many may have to transition to non-skins based services. The legal ambiguity surrounding skins may have been what allowed these sites to thrive in the first place.
The financial impact will be significant for all parties involved, including individual users whose skins’ value has already decreased. Income streams as high as seven figures will likely dwindle or disappear completely.
On the esports side, the closure of sites like Lounge may negatively affect mid to lower-tier events, as betting adds excitement and significance. Likewise, the devaluation of skins will diminish the impact of drops and giveaways at top events like ESL One Cologne 2016. The future of the competitive Counter-Strike scene remains uncertain.