CSGO gambling purge could be on horizon as Steam bans traders

CSGO gamblers are once again in the hot waters as big shots report suspicious community bans after trading on a certain website.

CSGO gambling is now a bannable offense, but even before, Valve had taken strict action against third-party websites that allowed gambling and slots with CSGO skins. Despite that, the shops remained up and running, and Valve also went quiet for some time. However, trouble’s stirring up again after Valve leveled bans against big Steam accounts loaded with money.

On May 17, 2023, players noticed that some notable Steam traders had received a community ban, rendering their stagnant money and items useless. More traders came forward with a similar story. Some of these players had inventories worth $400,000 or more.

$435,000 banned pic.twitter.com/YRHwUfcsJI

— TnK (@0xTnK) May 12, 2023

Valve hasn’t officially commented on the matter, but Erik “fl0m” Flom, who is in close touch with the devs, claimed that “it’s just getting started.” Notable CSGO personality DonHaci warned people to refrain from using sites like CSGOEmpire if they value what they can’t lose. However, CSGOEmpire claims to have no connection with the bans, saying that the user could be involved in shady business.

“We have been monitoring the situation, and there is no evidence whatsoever that trading on Empire results in a ban. It’s likely the case that this user recently interacted with fraudulent/fishy accounts, used Empire sometime in the distant past, and misattributed his ban to us.” CSGOEmpire said.

Is Valve banning CSGO traders?

Whether the ban came from using CSGOEmpire or not, it seems that Valve is once again gearing up to crack down on CSGO gambling. It won’t be an easy job, considering it’s now a big market where many players are making a living off of selling skins on third-party websites.

Still, the state of gambling and crypto-related trading in CSGO is reminiscent of the pre-2016 market, infested with scammers and underage players indulging in betting and gambling. It remains to be seen how strong this potential purge would be, but one is surely on the horizon.