Counter-Strike is one of the most popular video games and esports right now. The fact is, this title would not be nearly as popular if the Arms Deal update did not happen where the first skins were introduced to the game.
Not so long after that, Counter-Strike themed gambling sites appeared allowing players to wager skins across different games like betting on professional CS matches, opening cases, or playing casino-styled types of games. You can find all of the current places to wager on CSGO on the CSDB website. In this piece, we will talk about the growth of this industry so make sure to not miss out.
The Early Days of CS:GO Skins Gambling
After the infamous update that took place in 2013, a lot of players were looking for ways to invest their current skins for a chance to win more expensive and better-looking ones. Not so long ago after the update, the first CS:GO gambling site appeared called CSGOLounge.
Before proceeding any further, we should not forget to mention that not all skins had the same price. Primarily, skins had a unique wear which significantly affected the price of the particular skin.
Content creators also played a pivotal role in the promotion of skins gambling as they displayed enormous winnings which caught the attention of a lot of players who also wanted to wager their skins in the hope of ending up in profit.
But, as the millions in skins were wagered every day, the first problems started to appear which had to be addressed. First and foremost, gambling sites barely enforced any type of regulations meaning that underage gamblers had full access to these platforms.
Secondly, the majority of operators completely ignored gambling laws and were not interested in acquiring gambling licenses which would ensure that they operate on a particular standard suitable for players.
Counter-Strike Gambling Regulation: Past & Current
We already briefly touched base on the gambling sites not being regulated. This is the case because they are operating in a grey area. They can do so because most countries across the world do not recognize Counter-Strike skins as a currency, but they rather consider skins as digital assets.
However, as the scene started to expand, Valve, the company behind the game, dedicated to take action by sending out cease and desist letter to the most popular CSGO gambling sites. Some companies terminated their sites immediately while others decided to ignore the letter.
Companies that were not interested in shutting down their business found a workaround to offer gambling services to players. To further regulate the market, Valve handed out a string of bans primarily focused on bot trading accounts which lost gambling sites millions of dollars.
Right now, if we take a closer look at the CSGO gambling industry, we can confirm that the market is much more regulated. Before payments are processed, the majority of platforms will require players to go over the KYC verification process to ensure that gamblers are of legal age. Furthermore, security standards are top-notch right now while platforms will also offer a dedicated fairness system that can be inspected after the game is played.
Different Types of Counter-Strike Themed Gambling Games
So far in this piece, we mostly talked about how it all started and how well the CS-themed gambling market is regulated. It could also come in handy if we go over the most important games tied to this industry. For more information about this topic, refer to upcoming sections.
Case Openings
This game is the bread and butter for a lot of Counter-Strike gambling sites. This game heavily resembles the official case opening that can be found in the game.
However, opening cases on third-party sites is much more rewarding as the chances of winning particular items are disclosed and the overall prices of cases are significantly cheaper since you are not obliged to purchase both the case and the key.
Case Battles
Now that you are familiar with the case opening game, we need to introduce case battles to the scene. With this game, players can team up with each other or play against each other in a winner-takes-all type of match where the winner is determined based on who opens the most expensive skins.
Skins Jackpot
We can’t leave out the skins jackpot from this piece as this has been a go-to gambling option for a lot of players back in the day. With this one, players deposited skins into a community pot. After the pot is filled with the necessary number of skins or after the timer runs out, players will be assigned a winning percentage. Afterward, the raffle will commence and one lucky player will walk away with all of the skins from the pot.
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