Headline image and image above courtesy of www.redbubble.com
A brief background to betting in CSGO
As with the rise of any large sport, gambling and betting seems to follow not too far behind. It is common in the world of sports such as football for members of the community to bet on various markets either in-play or beforehand, with the global trade worth a cool $3tr, and there is no difference when it comes to Counter-Strike, save for the numbers involved.
With a huge rise in the competitive scene over the last few years it is no surprise to see that, with the involvement of purchasable skins within the game, gambling became a part of the CS experience too, and that is only enhanced now skins can easily be translated into PayPal credit and real money.
However, it is the player against player gambling, and sites that offer those services that have hit the news in recent weeks, with headlines suggesting a real malaise at the heart of the culture.
The iBUYPOWER Scandal
Image courteous of cyberspaceandtime.com
Back in the August of 2014 fans were surprised to see professional team iBUYPOWER lose to complete underdogs netcodeguides during their match on de_season. The aim of the players during the match seemed atrocious and they were missing and going for shots that seemed ludicrous. It later became publicly known, following a report by Richard Lewis, that the players had been purposely losing the game as they had used a betting site csgolounge.com to bet against themselves, and by throwing the game they were certain to win all the money gambled against them. This shocking scandal resulted in the permanent banning of most of the roster and just goes to show the grasp that gambling held on the community.
video couteous of ImPeterKe-CSGO
The lawsuit
With the rise of gambling it is clear that many have been drawn to its temptations, including those under the legal gambling age. With so many teenagers losing large amounts of skins that equate to real money, it has now got to the stage that a lawsuit has been created.
The lawsuit has been issued against Valve by a pro player named Michael John McLeod, and alleges that the company have 'knowingly allowed, supported and/or sponsored illegal gambling by allowing millions of Americans to link their individual Steam accounts to third-party websites such as CSGO Lounge ("Lounge"), CSGO Diamonds ("Diamonds"), and OPSkins (collectively, "unnamed co-conspirators").'
The lawsuit then goes on to press allegations that they have created 'unregulated' gambling that 'targets teenagers'.
Falsehood, fake reactions and all out deception
However, the story does not stop there, as the recent exposure of YouTubers 'Syndicate' and 'Tmartn' has escalated the drama to such a point that other YouTuber stars, whom are not even affiliated with Global Offensive, felt the need to clarify the situation through videos such as the release of h3h3Productions new video (see below). It has also given rise to a barrage of questioning about other big members who have been seen to be gambling skins.
For those unaware, Thomas 'Syndicate' Cassell and Trevor 'TmarTn' Martin recently confessed to being the owners of the gambling websites they have been promoting in their videos, with the allegations against them suggesting that all the reactions were in fact fake and they did not really legitimately win any of the money that was seen to be obtained on screen. Many have come out to express their own frustration at the situation as the prominent duo made no clear indication that they were president and vice president of the company (csgolotto.com), and as a result followers were tricked onto the websites having seen the amazing profits the two were able to achieve.
video courteous of h3h3Production
The frustration towards the diamond owners does not stop there however, as a series of tweets and videos release not only further irritation and ire towards the entire situation but also begin to hint at the seriousness of what has taken place.
With TmarTn also having a small connection with professional team, Team EnVyUs, the organization was quick to clarify on one of their blogs that, "As a company and as managing partners, we have absolutely no involvement with or ties to CSGOLotto.com"
statement taken from the Official EnVyUs blog
This news came shortly after the reveal that Twitch Streamer and ex-player of team Echo Fox m0e_tv may have been paid by csgodiamonds.com to promote their website through false wins in which he would bet against a machine knowing what the winning numbers would be. While providing entertainment for his viewers, who did not know that he was being paid, the player was alleged to have dishonestly promoted the gambling website by making it appear to be really easy to win lots of money.
Could new rules on websites stop illegal gambling?
There have been talks of stricter rules coming into play for the gambling websites, meaning that you would have to prove to be 18 before you could use the site. The problem here is, living in the modern age it is almost impossible to monitor the ages of all users and it is not difficult to fake your own details. As a result, although I personally feel this would be a step in the right direction it would be only a short term fix and many in the community would agree that further regulations may need to be seen as the entire situation appears out of hand.
The future of CSGO gambling.
Although there is no clear evidence that the gambling of skins is going to stop, the recent news has certainly brought to light some of the shady activity that has been taking place within the gambling scene. With YouTube stars giving false hope, potentially to children being encouraged to gamble, and arguments over the age restrictions, we can only hope that people will think twice before they sign up for these suspicious websites.
As for the YouTubers involved with the scandals that is certainly not my position to say, however, it is already clear that this bad publicity has cost them dearly, and should they get away with their actions without legal consequences, they will for definite have to work hard to gain back the reputations they once held. TotalBiscuit, another Youtuber embedded within the gaming community, has argued that such sponsorship deals should always be clearly presented to stop the consumer being taking advantage of. In the current climate, it feels hard to disagree, but unless customers can be persuaded to be more vigilant at the point of purchase it is hard to see where progress can be made, as such relationships are already legally required to be made obvious. Sadly though, for some the lure of money is enough to make them blind to the rules.
