Counter-Strike has been a massive name in the world of gaming and eSports, but it has also been heavily associated with underage gambling. Now, online gambling is incredibly accessible nowadays, and casino sites are common, so why is it such a big deal when CS2 does it? Let’s discuss. 

Understanding CS2 Gambling

In a regular casino, you’d deposit money via a payment method of your choice and gamble on casino games. If you use promotions, it’s even possible to get 150 free spins for $1 deposit and extend your playtime significantly. In other words, it’s not even expensive for those who want to play casually. For those who play CS2, gambling can also be affordable, as they don’t have to use real money, instead, they can use in-game skins as currency. 

Initially, the whole thing started with third-party sites that allow you to stake your skins on games of chance. Other players would also stake their cosmetics, and whoever wins gets all the skins that were staked in that round. However, over time, new types of gambling sites emerged that allowed you to exchange your skins for balance, and the skins were valued based on rarity and demand. This dynamic changed things drastically. 

Psychological and Behavioral Impact

There is a good reason why gambling sites are so heavily regulated, and why they can lose their license for failing to prevent underage gambling. During formative years, adolescents are more prone to develop addictions or negative behavioural patterns. 

In the case of CS2 gambling, almost 70% of gamblers started when they were between 13 and 17 years old. Some of these bettors even grew up to be business owners of sites that host CS skin betting. Coffeezilla talked in-depth about how this industry operates and even pointed out why it’s difficult to regulate it, unless VALVE takes a more drastic approach. 

Economic and Legal Aspects

Casinos are regulated differently depending on jurisdiction and the type of entertainment they offer. But even Zodiac Casino, which gives 80 free spins for $1 is still treated as a regulated gambling site that needs to do due diligence on its customers and respect age restriction laws. Many skin betting sites use legal loopholes to claim they are in the sweepstakes niche and even avoid KYC protocols in certain cases. Because they are easier to access, other CS skin betting operators become prone to using the same approach in order to maintain a competitive edge. 

Another important aspect is marketing and economics. CS2 gambling is heavily advertised in eSports events that many young gamers watch. These are highly profitable partnerships, and eSports teams that want to compete often bend their morals and accept to be their brand ambassadors. If they don’t, teams will, and then they will be able to afford top CS players, and see more success down the line. 

Industry and Community Response

Because many companies that manage CS gambling sites are based offshore, it’s difficult to take any meaningful action against them. Once again, they can rely on loopholes, or allow users to access the site through a VPN, or just make another website if the current one is taken down. 

As a result community or consumers have mainly addressed their concerns to VALVE. In truth, this is the right approach. It’s VALVE who created the system in the first place, and many claim it was designed to look like gambling with extra steps. Yes, you can’t get real money from lootboxes, but you can still earn Steam credit and exchange it in the Steam Store. 

Game Developer Responsibility

On the surface, VALVE has taken steps to combat this, but many doubt their motives.  First off, the company, much like other studios that make money through lootboxes, has designed the whole lootbox system to resemble slot games. Also, the value of the items inside those lootboxes goes up thanks to the existence of CS gambling sites. In other words, if those were to go away, so would the sales numbers. 

Finally, many players have valuable skins that they paid for, and removing the whole gambling aspect would cause them to plummet in value. It’s safe to assume that VALVE wouldn’t be happy if they offended their big spenders.

Role of Parents and Educators

Parents and educators should also take time to explain to kids the dangers of gambling, even when it’s happening outside of casinos and sportsbooks. They should take an interest in what kind of games kids are playing, and if their kids have access to parents’ credit cards. After all, they can’t gamble without a source of funds.

Community and Influencer Accountability 

Streaming platforms play a role in this as well. As gambling became more popular, they embraced it and even allowed content creators to advertise it in a way. It’s a known fact that this type of content normalizes gambling, and younger viewers become curious and decide to give it a try. So, stricter content control needs to be implemented in order to mitigate underage gambling.  

Proposed Solutions and Preventive Measures

To sum up, it’s almost impossible to make CS2 betting go away, because third-party offshore sites are the ones facilitating it. This means there are several other options to prevent it.

• Pressuring VALVE and other gaming companies to regulate lootboxes and prevent underage gamers from buying them
• Advocating for stricter control when it comes to gambling sponsorship in eSports and on streaming platforms
• Being mindful of the types of games kids play and how they spend money on them
• Educating children on the potential dangers of lootboxes and how they serve as a gateway to gambling.

Generally speaking, betting or games of chance have been a part of human civilization since ancient times. It’s impossible to ban it the best we can do is make it safer.