In this morning’s dose of ridiculously crazy news, Valve recently banned 40 CS:GO accounts for trading, which might not sound like a lot, but just between those 40 accounts, over $2 million worth of in-game items and skins have been lost.
At the start of June, gambling site CSGOEmpire released a spreadsheet listing all the CS:GO traders they accused of being part of a scheme to launder cryptocurrency through CSGORoll, a rival gambling site, and all but one of the listed accounts have now been banned by Valve.
Accounts that receive a community ban from Valve lose all ability to trade items, meaning their stockpile of skins and items falls into limbo, resulting in the massive loss mentioned above.
It’s unknown whether Valve banned these accounts specifically because of the CSGOEmpire spreadsheet or if it was just a coincidence. Still, CSGOEmpire has taken this as definitive proof of a victory over its rival, accused of illegally laundering $12.7m in crypto over the last month alone.
Things have gotten too far and innocent people are being dragged into a blood fuelled personal vendetta by a malicious, evil and jealous psychopath who is hellbent on trying to destroy the industry for everyone
We have been operating in peace with the exact same business model…
— EyE (@VIILines) June 28, 2023
In a super long Tweet on Twitter, CSGORoll’s owner made a public statement denying the accusations of money laundering and stating that the site is not engaging in gambling.
“I own a gamified skins trading platform, by law, this is not classified as a casino in our largest markets because we do not offer cash withdrawals. Things have gotten too far and innocent people are being dragged into a blood fuelled personal vendetta by a malicious, evil and jealous psychopath who is hellbent on trying to destroy the industry for everyone.” – @VIILines
Steam’s online conduct rules clearly restrict users from engaging in any commercial activity on the platform, including running contests; gambling; buying or selling Steam accounts; selling content, gift cards, or other items.
What do you think about all this? Let us know in the comments.