Steam’s online code of conduct has just been updated and mostly contains the expected wording, which explicitly forbids illegal activities, harassment, use of cheat programs and tampering with the Steam client. However, a new addition to the code of conduct is a strict ban on “commercial activities,” which includes gambling, a controversial topic and legal problems for Valve in the past.
The Week in Games: Return to Hyrule
Monday 3:53 p.m
valve can have once promoted CS:GOis the marketplace for weapon skins as a way to “experience all the illegal thrills of the black market gun trade” without doing all the bad stuff, but the same shop quickly became a source of controversy. When gambling on skins flourished over what forbes described As a “liquid market to convert any gun or knife back into cash” it caught the attention of some legal experts. They believe that the same regulatory structures that apply to gambling in traditional sports should apply to games based on the value placed on them CS:GO
Valve has since emerged as the winner of legal claims seeking to hold it accountable for its involvement in unregulated gambling. Now, to avoid any nebulous interpretation of Valve’s relationship with illegal gambling sites and activities, Steam, its digital showcase, has its chance Online Code of Conduct
Discovered by CS:GO Collector xMercy, Gambling has been added to Prohibited Commercial Activities, which includes a list of prohibited offenses such as “buying or selling Steam accounts”, selling gift cards, “begging” or even “posting advertisements”.
As xMercy points this out, “commercial activity” was something Valve had always been vigilant about on Steam. The main change here is the direct mention of gambling.
Interested in CS:GO The number of skins is likely to remain high, but now Valve has made it explicitly clear that direct use of the service to facilitate uncontrolled gambling will not be tolerated.
