Valve Refuses to Shut Down ‘Counter-Strike’ Trading Despite Legal Threat

Valve has refused Washington State’s demand to cease all Counter-Strike: Global Offensive skin trading.

As the rise of shady third-party gambling sites has caught the public eye, those which use CS:GO weapon “skins” have drawn particular attention. On October 5th, 2016, the Washington State Gambling Commission issued a demand that Valve Corporation cease all exchange of the virtual cosmetic items.

Valve responded to the Washington State Gambling Commission via email, obtained by TechRaptor. According to Valve Legal Counsel Liam Lavery, the company has explained on “multiple occasions” they “[are] not engaged in gaming or the promotion of gambling, and we do not ‘facilitate’ gambling.”

The company maintains that their operation is fully “legal under Washington law,” and are “surprised and disappointed” by the state commission’s decision to “publicly accuse Valve of illegal activity and threaten our employees with criminal charges.”

And while they contend that their is no “factual or legal support” for the accusations leveled against them, Valve does note that they have already worked to discourage third-party gambling. They challenge the commission to cite the “criminal statute or regulation” that they are violating, but remain confident that none of the activities outlined in their response are illegal “in Washington or any other jurisdiction.”

Thus far, Valve has otherwise ignored both the demands and their included deadline, according to an update made on the same day as the response.

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