Valve is taking action against TF2 gambling websites

Valve is taking action against TF2 gambling websites

Valve is taking action against TF2 gambling websites

 
Over the past year, Steam has had a huge problem with illegal 3rd party gambling websites, which have used tradable items from several of their games, including Team Fortress 2 and most famously, CS:GO.
Valve has taken action against a large number of CS:GO gambling websites, threatening legal action if the website does not close down. Valve has also worked to ban the accounts that gambling websites use to trade in-game items. 
 
With Valve’s primary focus being on CS:GO, many operators of illegal game-item gambling sites have moved to using TF2 items, which so far have seen less legal and responses and account blockings from Valve. Now Valve is taken further actions against gambling websites, with a particular focus on those that use TF2 in-game items.  
 
Below is a quote from Valve’s Team Fortress 2 blog, outlining their plans to crack down on TF2 gambling websites. 

 

    In July of last year, we outlined our position on gambling web sites, specifically noting that Valve has no business relationship with these sites. At that time we also began blocking many CSGO gambling accounts. You can view the original post here.

More recently, some gambling web sites started leveraging TF2 items. Today we began the process of blocking TF2 gambling accounts as well. We recommend you don’t trade with these sites.

 

This move from Valve makes a lot of sense, as worldwide gambling authorities and lawmakers have demanded that the company stops all forms of Skin/item trading through Steam, preventing any 3rd party websites from utilising this system for profit through illegal gambling.  

Valve makes a lot of money using their item trading market, making it difficult for the company to close down the system, especially given the large investments that some players have placed into the acquisition of certain items. 
 

Valve is taking action against TF2 gambling websites

 

Aside from their plans to close down gambling related item trading accounts and challenging illegal gambling websites with legal action, Valve needs to make some major changes to their OpenID API in order to prevent 3rd party websites from utilising the system for the purposes of illegal gambling. 

While Valve can continue banning accounts and sending legal notices to gambling websites, new sites can still be created and new Steam accounts can be created within minutes. To stop their in-game items from being used by Gambling websites permanently, Valve will either need to stop Steam item trading altogether or overhaul their system to prevent their OpenID API from being misused in this way.   

Both of these solutions will have financial repercussions for Valve, whether it be from the loss of their trading ecosystem or for the development of a newer (more secure) trading system. If Valve does not take any further action it is likely that the US State Gambling commissions and their international equivalents will take Valve to court over these issues.    

  

You can join the discussion on Valve taking action against TF2 Gambling websites on the OC3D Forums.

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