CSGO players claim getting banned for profile comments

Valve’s ban policy seems to be either for no reason at all or for every possible reason, as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players claim they’re now getting banned for profile comments.

On May 10, Steam labeled gambling as a bannable offense in clear words for the first time ever. The platform’s new prohibited behavior includes “posting advertisements; running contests; gambling; buying or selling Steam accounts; selling content, gift cards, or other items; and begging.” But, initially, players didn’t take all of it seriously until some traders smelled a gambling purge. 

Now, owners of stacked accounts are getting banned left and right for no apparent reason, but some claim it’s likely due to comments related to gambling or trading.  

Why are CSGO skin owners getting banned? 

On May 29, notable CSGO personality Don Haci took to Twitter, calling out Valve for vague TOS. According to him, a CSGO player got banned even though he only used Buff163, CSMoney, and CSGOFloat. The player himself claims not to have broken any rules as well.

Ever since Steam T.O.S change I've had people reach out saying they got banned with lots of $ in skins, this guy mentioned he only used Buff163, CSMoney and CSGOFloat.

What exactly is going on? Guidlines needs to be more clear explaining what's banable @CounterStrike https://t.co/PzOy3GKv9M

— Hac1 (@DonHaci) May 29, 2023

The post’s comment section was flooded with similar instances where skin owners didn’t precisely gamble. Now, players are claiming that the bans could have resulted from specific keywords Steam is on the lookout for. 

For example, commenting “trade, gamble, buy, sell” and similar on someone’s profile could get you a temporary ban. Multiple players confirmed that the bans from gambling-related comments are real, even if they are short-lived. So, it’s likely that big-shot skin owners are getting banned for innocent trading on Steam. 

However, there’s no reliable way to confirm that it’s true, considering many banned traders claim to have not commented on anything that includes risky keywords. So, the TOS remains vague. Players are now frustrated with Valve for silent bans after losing big money they had stacked up in the form of virtual items.

It’s unlikely Valve would respond to the ban wave right now, considering the CS2 release date is just around the corner. The purge is likely Riot’s way of cleansing its upcoming installment from third-party traders.