Over the month or so CS:GO betting has been a topic of hot debate. Some popular YouTubers were caught red handed while promoting their own betting website without disclosure. In fact, they may have manipulated odds in their to entice viewers on their channel.
Valve kept itself at a distance in the beginning of scandal and it has allowed these websites to operate for a long time. However, Valve finally decided to jump in and take action.
The company has now issued a cease & desist order to popular CS:GO betting websites. Including Tmartn’s CS:GO Lotto that has been at the center of controversy over the past few weeks.
According to Valve, owners are using Steam accounts to run these websites. Meanwhile, Steam User Agreement prohibits the use of Steam and Valve services commercially. Steam services are licensed for personal, non-commercial use only.
Valve gave 10 days to a handful of websites before their owners will have Steam accounts stripped.
The list includes:
- CS:GO Lotto
- CS:GO Lounge
- CSSO2x
- CSGODiamonds
- CSGOStrong
- CSGOdouble
- CSGO500
- CSGOcosmos
- CSGOCasino
- CSGO
- CSGOhouse
- CSGOatse
- Societlogin
- Dota2Lounge
- CSG0fast
- CSGOmassive
- CSGOBig
- CSGOwild
- CSGOSweep
- Bets.gg
- CSGOBattle
- CSGOpot
CS:GO Lounge is the biggest one that Valve has targeted. It has been involved in CS:GO match fixes scandals in the past.
Valve previously released a statement saying:
These sites have basically pieced together their operations in two-part fashion. First, they are using the OpenID API as a way for users to prove ownership of their Steam accounts and items. Any other information they obtain about a user’s Steam account is either manually disclosed by the user or obtained from the user’s Steam Community profile (when the user has chosen to make their profile public). Second, they create automated Steam accounts that make the same web calls as individual Steam users.
Using the OpenID API and making the same web calls as Steam users to run a gambling business is not allowed by our API nor our user agreements. We are going to start sending notices to these sites requesting they cease operations through Steam, and further pursue the matter as necessary. Users should probably consider this information as they manage their in-game item inventory and trade activity
This is a developing story, we’ll have more for you soon.
