For CS:GO, the introduction of skins led to a thriving gambling market. People buy skins for cash, then use the skins to place online bets on pro CS:GO matches. Because there’s a liquid market to convert each gun or knife back into cash, laying a bet in skins is essentially the same as betting with real money.
CS:GO’s popularity skyrocketed along with the skins gambling markets. Valve has sold 21 million copies of the game and made $567 million in total revenue from the title since it debuted almost four years ago, according to research firm SuperData, and a range of websites now let players trade or sell skins, or use them to gamble.
Who knew this was even a thing?! Now there’s a class action lawsuit put together by concerned parents (ie. the ones who’re paying for the kids to lose money in an unregulated gambling market) against Valve.
Throw in some Youtubers who’ve created their own gambling site and haven’t divulged that information to any of their 10 million subscribers (despite actively promote it) and you’ve got yourself a good ole fashioned scam.
Fascinating stuff. Hardly the first case of Youtube stars not disclosing their endorsements are paid, won’t be the last.
Source: Virtual Weapons Are Turning Teen Gamers Into Serious Gamblers – Bloomberg