CS:GO Lounge closes skins gambling offering

CS:GO Lounge has told its more than 500,000 members that it will no longer offer skins gambling.

In a notice issued to its community, the website said that depositing virtual skins and items in order to place a bet is not possible any more, and that it is working on a solution to enable withdrawal.

The announcement comes a month after Valve, the company that owns and operates the Steam distribution portal and titles such as Counter-Strike Global Offensive, sent cease-and-desist notices to gambling sites offering their products through its platform.

CS:GO subsequently announced its intention to apply for gambling licences in the countries in which it is operational, but the statement it released today suggests that it is no longer being considered.

It said: “Lounge will continue as an esports entertainment and information platform with new features to be released very soon.”

Valve acted after it became the subject of legal proceedings, including a class action lawsuit, that alleged it allowed illegal gambling through its OpenID API (application protocol interface).

Before the lawsuit it was estimated that skins gambling, where gamers bet in-game items through third-party websites, could generate $7.4 billion (€6.7 billion) in turnover this year.

Related article: Games giant Valve bars $7.4bn skins gambling market