An Australian senator has announced that he intends to introduce a bill defining Counter-Strike: Counter Offensive as gambling, thanks to its weapon skin trading system. In what looks to be a world first, independent senator Nick Xenophon will introduce the bill when the Australian federal parliament resumes next month.

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, the senator said that Counter-Strike and similar games "purport to be one thing" while they're actually "morphing into full-on gambling and that itself is incredibly misleading and deceptive.

"This is the Wild West of online gambling that is actually targeting kids," Xenophon said.

According to the report, the legislation could make it illegal for Valve to solicit payments in exchange for items with different, or random, value. Or else, there could be legislated age requirements to play any game featuring a similar economy, or the requirement to warn of gambling related content.

Valve has only recently made meaningful steps to curb the fledgling but already very prolific skin gambling market. In a statement issued earlier this month, Valve made clear that it has no connection with any of the skin gambling sites that have emerged since they introduced in-game item trading.

"A number of gambling sites started leveraging the Steam trading system, and there's been some false assumptions about our involvement with these sites," the statement read. "We'd like to clarify that we have no business relationships with any of these sites. We have never received any revenue from them. And Steam does not have a system for turning in-game items into real world currency."

This statement was prompted by this month's CSGO Lotto scandal, which involved two high profile streamers failing to disclose their direct connection with the gambling site they were promoting. Valve sent cease and desist letters to over 20 skin gambling sites last month.

There's a run of great finals and season climaxes to catch this weekend, from CS:GO to StarCraft II, LoL and all the fighting games you could want. You'll have to wait if you're after some Dota 2, however: the International starts next week, making this a quiet weekend of training and contemplation for the world's best Dota teams.

CSGO: ELEAGUE Season 1 Finals

While the bulk of the ELEAGUE Season 1 playoffs will be over by the time you read this, you've still got the grand final itself to look forward to tomorrow. Starting at 13:00 PDT/16:00 EDT/22:00 CEST, months of competition will come to an end in a clash of some of the best CSGO teams in the world. You can watch on Twitch and find loads more information on the official ELEAGUE site.

League of Legends: NA Championship Series

The final weekend of the NCA LCS season is underway. Play continues both Saturday and Sunday beginning at 12:00 PDT/21:00 CEST. If you're reading this on Friday, however, be sure to check out Immortals vs. TSM at 15:00 PDT/midnight CEST: both teams have an incredible 15-1 record in the split so far, so this'll be a clash you won't want to miss. As ever, you can find more information and the livestream at LoLesports.

StarCraft II: IEM Season XI Shanghai

The first event of Intel Extreme Masters Season XI pulls together a lineup of international StarCraft II talent. Games have been underway for a couple of days, but you've still got time to catch the quarter and semifinals on Saturday starting at 07:15 CEST/22:15 PDT on Friday night. The final two players will face off on Sunday for the lion's share of $50,000 along with the KeSPA Proleague Final. The final day broadcast begins at 03:00 CEST/18:00 PDT on Saturday night. Watch via the official stream.

Capcom Pro Tour: Defend The North 2016

New York hosts the Capcom Pro Tour this weekend, so expect another packed schedule of Street Fighter V, Guilty Gear Xrd, Skullgirls, Mortal Kombat, Hearthstone, and more besides. You can find the full schedule here. The SFV top 32 is due to begin at noon local time, which is 09:00 PDT/18:00 CEST. Keep an eye on the event's Twitter feed for stream details: it's sponsored by Twitch, so you'd expect there to be one. If there's no official coverage, it looks like TeamSp00ky is planning on picking up the slack.

In this new series, advocates for the best competitive games on the PC explain why this is the perfect time to get into something new and what you'll need to get started.

If you've always been curious about Dota 2 but never taken that first step, then now is the perfect time. The biggest event in the Dota calendar, the International, is only a week away. Start today and you'll be in a great position to enjoy the event, and the event itself is one of the best ways to deepen your appreciation for the game. My relationship with Dota 2 began right before TI2 in 2012, and contrasting my nascent understanding of the game with the quality of play at that tournament including 'The Play', one of the most celebrated moments in pro Dota sparked a four year commitment spanning thousands of hours of play.

This is my favourite game possibly my favourite game ever and I would never have assumed that it was for me before I tried it. I've written almost a hundred thousand words about the game over the last couple of years, but in this article I'm going to dial it back to the start. If you've not played Dota 2, why should you? What do you need to invest? And where can you look for further help?

What is Dota 2, really?

Let's put aside the word 'MOBA' for a moment, because it doesn't help. Dota 2 is a multiplayer game that draws in elements from strategy games, RPGs, and competitive action. Although your objective is simple kill AI minions, gain power, destroy your opponent's outer defenses, and siege their base Dota's appeal lies in its breadth.

There comes a point with most competitive games where you've seen more or less everything. You've fired every gun, captured every objective. Though the details may differ, eventually matches begin to run into one another.

This doesn't happen with Dota 2. You play as one of more than a hundred distinct characters, as do all of your teammates and every member of the enemy team. Between the ten heroes present in any given game there are dozens of special abilities, rules, counters, and interactions. This is further complicated by items hundreds of bolt-on upgrades for your hero that grant new skills and bonuses. Every character and item has, in turn, a differing relationship with the map the eleventh character in the match, a labyrinth of pathways, neutral monsters, buffs, and so on. And all of the above stems from a deep and internally-consistent stat system.

Dota 2 is notably complex even when compared to its closest peers: games like League of Legends, Smite, and Heroes of the Storm. It was the result of years of community development before it was taken under Valve's wing, and as a result it's packed with special rules and exceptions and mechanics that feel like hacks. It's far from elegant, but you'll never stop being surprised by it. A single tree in Dota 2 has more special rules attached to it than some Heroes of the Storm maps.

What do I get out of playing?

If you're fascinated by systems, competition, and teamplay, then Dota 2 has unsurpassed depth and longevity (and honestly, I'm surprised you don't play it already.) This is a game for people who want to commit to something, who are excited rather than repelled by the idea of climbing a mountain. It helps a great deal if the idea of learning excites you.

It's not all work, however. Dota 2's complexity makes it a brilliant generator of anecdotes, and sharing these moments with friends is a pleasure independent of the game's difficulty. Similarly, fluency with the game gives you access to an esports scene with decades of history and a community that, in its brighest moments, feels like a massive exclusive club for people who 'get' Dota.

Also: Dota 2 is fun. That helps too.

What do I need?

In terms of financial outlay, Dota 2 is remarkably generous. The entire game including every character, item and ability is entirely free. You can play at the highest level immediately without spending a penny. The in-game store is limited to cosmetic items and seasonal 'Battle Passes', which amount to minigames and cosmetic collections tied to specific esports events. It's possible to spend a lot of money on Dota 2 in that regard, and if you want the rarest and flashiest cosmetics then you'll certainly need to spend for them but you don't need to.

In terms of time, Dota 2 is trickier to assess. The road to understanding is extremely long, and you need to be okay with the idea that thousands of hours of experience will make you an intermediate player at best. Mastery takes decades. There's also the matter that there's no way to surrender a match in progress, and leaving early carries a punishment. You can't play Dota 2 unless you're willing to give it 45 minutes to an hour at a time.

On the other hand, Dota 2 has no grinding and, while it does have account levels, these don't have anything to do with your in-game capabilities. Everything you can do in Dota 2, you can do from the moment you load the game. Your skill is gated by your own ability, not by an unlock system.

You will certainly need patience. Not just patience for learning, but patience with a community which, at its worst, can be one of the most hostile in gaming. Toxicity is Dota 2's most serious problem, and arguably a bigger barrier to entry than the learning curve. To an extent, this is not the game or Valve's fault. There are in-game reporting tools and punishments for repeat offenders. The issue is simply that the game attracts players with a certain attitude ready to rage at their teammates, ready to say anything to get a rise out of their opponents, willing to make people uncomfortable for its own sake. Play game for any length of time and it is sadly inevitable that you will encounter racism, sexism, prejudice and hostility.

This isn't everyone, however. Dota 2 is able to forge positive bonds between people, too, and it's much more fun to learn if you make the journey with people you enjoy making friends with. You'll make friends playing Dota 2, but you'll need to develop a thick skin on the way.

The best resources for beginners

Over the years, the Dota 2 community has fostered some amazing teachers who make the journey a lot easier. When you begin, you'll want to start by playing against bots with a selection of guides and videos to hand. Only when you feel like you've got a grasp of all of the different factors that go into a victory should you step into the game proper.

Kevin 'Purge' Godec has a longstanding reputation as one of the best tutors in the scene and his beginner's guide, 'Welcome To Dota, You Suck' is a great place to start. His YouTube channel, PurgeGamers, is also helpful. When you're ready to start learning each new hero, check to see if there's a relevant 'Purge plays' video and watch at least the first ten minutes to get a sense of the character's role and item progression. Mind the time and date stamp, however: Dota 2 changes a lot from patch to patch, so information in older videos might lead you astray if you're not careful.

Other great beginner's guides include devilesk's 'Comprehensive Dota 2 Guide' and Flipside3Tactics' YouTube series, 'Dota for Dummies'. Finally, the Dota 2 guides section in the Steam Community is a useful resource of hero-specific builds that can be loaded in-game using the book icon in the top left. Again, look for guides designed for the current patch and use the star rating associated with each to guide you.

Get into the pro scene

This is a very, very good time to start watching professional Dota 2. The International is the biggest event of the year, and boasts the largest prize pool in competitive gaming. The Dota 2 scene is diverse and competitive, with no single dominant team or region.

The best places to watch professional Dota 2 are on Twitch and via in-game spectator tools. Click the 'Watch' tab to see games in progress, which includes professional play as well as pub games taking place around the world. Once you're in, you can control the camera yourself or give over control to a particular commentary crew using the in-game menus. If you own a Vive, you can also spectate in virtual reality using the incredible Dota VR Hub.

While watching pro play is a great way to learn the game, it certainly helps if you already know the basics. Following some of the guides above and getting a couple of bot games under your belt is the way to go if you want to be able to follow the competition.

As the International draws closer, we'll run specific guides to teams and the meta to help you follow along. You'll find all of them on PC Gamer Pro. In the meantime, good luck on your journey, and have fun. Remember: try not to die, buy wards, don't be an ass, and try not to worry about Riki you'll get used to him.

Hot on the heels of the latest batch of Immortal cosmetics and the news that this year's International prize pool is now the largest esports pot of all time, Valve have updated the International 2016 Battlepass with all-new features: including the crazy Dota 2 VR spectator mode they teased back in March.

That's right: if you can't make it to Seattle, you've still got a chance to experience the International in person - if you own a Vive. As initially teased, the Dota VR Hub allows you to watch games on a big virtual screen while surrounded by life-size characters, a huge minimaps, and all of the gold and experience graphs you could want. It goes deeper, however: click the minimap and you can teleport onto the field of battle itself to watch the action from the ground. You can even bring friends in with you, and wear a variety of Dota-themed virtual hats.

Redditor scarecrowman175 has a detailed gallery of VR shots which you can find here.

Let's be honest: this is mad. But it's also incredible, and completely unlike any other esports spectator system ever devised. And it's also eerily similar to a feature I described in a joke article in March last year. YOU'RE WELCOME, I GUESS.

Check back during the group stages for a more involved hands-on with the Dota 2 VR Hub.

This update also adds the now-traditional event prediction minigame as well as a new take on player cards. If you've been playing Dota 2 for a couple of years, you'll remember that the compendium started life as a sticker book: you'd try to collect all of the year's players before the event ended. It was fun but throwaway, and nobody really missed it when Valve moved on from the idea.

This new implementation is much more exciting. Everybody who owns a Battle Pass will earn 15 player card packs right away, and each player can be earned in standard, silver and gold rarities. You then use these cards to assemble fantasy draft rosters for each day of the event, earning Battle Pass points based on the performance of your chosen players. Silver and gold cards come with additional, randomly-assigned multipliers: see above for an example. If OG carry n0tail stacks camps and farms a lot, I'll get bonus points. Hooray!

The International is now less than a week away. Merry Dota Christmas, everybody!

There s still over two weeks to go until Dota 2 s flagship tournament The International 2016, but its prize pot has now surpassed last year s record-breaking total a whopping $18,580,479, at the time of writing making it the most lucrative esports competition in history.

Since the tournament s inception in 2011, Valve has provided $1.6 million of its own cash to the prize fund, however recent years have seen this augmented by a range of crowdfunded proceeds. A quarter of Battle Pass sales (passes that grant owners access to an exclusive haul of features and rewards throughout the Dota summer season) go into the pot, for example, while previous years saw the same share being shaved from sales of the ever-popular Dota 2 Electronic Annual The Compendium.

As a reward for beating last year s $18,429,613 record, Battle Pass owners will receive three treasure chests which include a range of in-game items.

According to dota2.prizetrac.kr, funding ran for 101 days in 2015. With just 70 days of Battle Pass sales gone this year, expect the grand total to rise further still. Here s a graph that compares the last few tournaments:

The International 2016 kicks off on August 13 in Seattle s Key Arena.

Header image courtesy of Faith&Fear on Steam.

In order to be successful in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive you need to be able to take control over the map and deal damage. High explosive grenades (HE) and the two firebombs (incendiary grenade and Molotovs) serve both purposes. A well timed HE can slow your enemy s movement enough for you to pick up an easy kill. They can also be used in combination with either a Molotov or another HE to do even more damage and potentially kill an opponent without ever putting yourself at risk.

The difference between a good grenade user and a really good one is how well you coordinate with your teammates. Therefore it s important to know how, why and when to use grenades if you want to improve your game.

Updates to incendiary grenades and Molotovs

In recent (and not so recent) updates Valve have gradually tuned the two firebombs to the point where they re almost the same. That said, they differ in price. The Molotov costs the terrorists $400 whereas the incendiary grenade costs the counter-terrorists $600. Another difference is that when you hold down either primary fire, secondary fire or both with the Molotov it makes noise that the other team can hear if they re close enough. Moral of the story: you might catch a bullet to your head if you run around ready to throw your Molotov if you opponent hears that it s safe to come around the corner. They do however both deal the same amount of damage and don t damage armor anymore.

 NIP’s creative firebomb round

Richard xizt Landstr m, Jacob pyth Mouruj rvi and Christopher GeT_RiGhT Alesund predicted that the former Luminosity (now SK-Gaming) players would push B-long once again, so they decided to do something creative with their incendiary grenades. They flashed, smoked, lined the grenades up and threw them at the same time.

Unfortunately for them the flashbang kept the Luminosity players from pushing further. Imagine what could have happened without that flashbang. At the same time they kind of had to use the flashbang in case their opponents decided to rush. But you get the point: if you find the right spots and the right timing you can do some really cool things with firebombs in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Spend some time on empty servers and experiment with approaches. Not only is it fun when you actually come across a useful place to lock down with firebombs, you ll also figure out what doesn t work.

 Combining Molotovs and HE grenades

Here s another example of a NiP play, this time against the French team G2 eSports:

It s always risky to move out in the open when you throw a grenade. Unless it s at the beginning of a round or you ve received information telling you that it s safe, you should avoid doing so. Most of the time it s better to bounce grenades off walls from a safe spot.

Apart from the fact that Richard xizt Landstr m died, then, this was a really good play. First the Molotov comes in and covers the chokepoint at double doors, forcing the G2 players to move in one of two directions. After that HE grenade explodes: you can see how it slows the terrorists down so that they take even more damage from the fire. Firebomb damage increases over time, so if you can make your enemy stay in it for a longer duration they re going to take massive damage. As you can see, C dric RpK Guipoy and Edouard SmithZz Dubourdeaux are left with 13 and 21 hp respectively.

 Grenades and vision

You can use both firebombs and HE grenades to briefly hide. If you stand really close to a molotov in a tight space you can see your enemy without a problem. Here s how it looks:

Note how it s almost impossible to see your opponent from the other side. This is something you can and should use to your advantage if your opponent tries to fry you. Punish them for every mistake they make. That s how you win games in CS:GO.

The thick smoke from the HE grenade provides a perfect screen for you to run behind to cross various parts of maps. This example from double doors at Dust2 is probably the most common example:

This allows you to save your precious smoke grenades they can come in handy later in the round.

Bonus clip

Here, Robin flusha R nnquist from fnatic shows us how to use the HE grenade creatively and in the process he picks up an ace against Team Dignitas.

First he hides behind the smoke and tries to spot enemy players on the A site. After a while he throws a grenade towards them. If a HE grenade explodes close enough you can t hear anything for a brief moment. Flusha uses that fact to drop down to CT spawn without the Danish players hearing him land. From then on he uses his incredible gamesense and nerve to take them down one by one.

Find all of our other Counter-Strike: Global Offensive guides here:

Inferno Counter-Terrorist guideInferno Terrorist guideCache Counter-Terrorist guideCache Terrorist guideOverpass Counter-Terrorist guideOverpass Terrorist guideCobblestone Counter-Terrorist guideCobblestone Terrorist guideTrain Counter-Terrorist guideTrain Terrorist guideMirage Counter-Terrorist guideMirage Terrorist guideDust2 Counter-Terrorist guideDust2 Terrorist guideSupport role guideEntry fragger role guideLurker role guideAWPer role guideTeam leader guideSMGs guideSniper rifles guideAssault rifles guidePistols guideWorst weapons guide

Following the rollout of Team Fortress 2's major Meet Your Maker update earlier this month, Valve has issued a patch to address some of the biggest problems with the new matchmaking functionality. The company acknowledged last week a lot of the most pressing concerns, and many of them are now fixed thanks to the new patch.

First of all, match leaving in casual mode will no longer incur a penalty, but to balance that out, Valve will increase the penalty in competitive mode in a forthcoming update. "The current system increases matchmaking ban times based on the number of abandons over a period of time," the notes read. "We are making a change to more quickly move serial abandoners into really long ban times. We will also subtract the maximum number of rank points possible, per abandon. The amount lost will be far higher than what could normally be lost in a completed match."

As for changes that will come into effect with the new patch, queue times should now take less than 90 seconds across the board, and empty player slots in in-progress games will now be filled up more frequently. Vote-kicking functionality has been added, and players can now select their preferred maps (though if they're added to an in-progress game, that won't apply until the next match).

Valve also outlined further plans for future updates, including ways to address griefing and high ping. The full update notes are over here. In the meantime, read Josh Wilkinson's impressions of the new matchmaking update here.

Photo credit: TaKeTV Media.

This might not be the busiest weekend in the esports calendar, but there's still enough to keep you occupied until Monday rolls around including CS:GO finals in China, the ongoing spectacle of the North American League of Legends scene, and StarLadder's Dota debut in Los Angeles. If you're into Hearthstone or enjoyed the HomeStory StarCraft series, you'll definitely want to be tuning in to SeatStory Cup V.

League of Legends: NA Championship Series

LoL's regular season play steps it up to cover for what is otherwise a quiet weekend. You can catch top-tier play in North America starting at 21:00 CEST/12:00 PDT on both Saturday and Sunday, with four best-of-threes being played on each day. You can find more information on the matchups, schedule and livestream on lolesports.com.

Dota 2: StarLadder i-League StarSeries

The first StarSeries LAN in the USA takes place in Los Angeles this weekend with $300,000 on the line. This is a good chance to see a slate of top Dota 2 teams play ahead of the International in a couple of weeks. Play is ongoing today, and continues on Saturday starting at 09:30 PDT/18:30 CEST. The action starts on Sunday at 14:00 PDT/23:00 CEST with the grand final beginning at 17:00 PDT (or 02:00 CEST the following day in Europe). Find the livestream here.

Hearthstone: SeatStory Cup V

There are a number of top players taking part in SeatStory Cup V this weekend. It's the Hearthstone version of the legendary HomeStory series: a serious competition in relaxed surroundings, giving you a chance to see pro players in a different light. Play begins every day at 14:00 CEST/05:00PDT and you can find the livestream here.

CSGO: Pro Gamer League 2016 Summer

This weekend is a little short on CS:GO, but you can still catch the finals of PGL 2016 in Wuhan on Sunday. The roster is primarily composed of Chinese teams with a handful of almost-top-tier western squads. The finals begin at 05:20 CEST on Sunday, which is 20:20 on Saturday night in the USA. Sadly there's no English stream for this event, but you can find the Chinese one on each match's HLTV.org page. Here's the final.

It s impossible to perfectly balance any game, but the money system in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has succeeded in making an astonishing number of weapons viable more so than in any previous version of the game. Most of the guns in CS:GO are useful in the right circumstances, but even so there are a few that aren t worth your precious dollars. In this article I ll go over the weapons I think are either bad or over-priced. Remember that these are my opinions: everybody s preferences are different.

The R8 Revolver

Those of us who played CS:GO when they first released this gun remember a game that was almost unplayable. It was so powerful that there was no point buying other weapons. Valve quickly realized their mistake and fixed the issue in a patch a few days later. The R8 s primary fire has a slight delay before it shoots, making it a lot slower than the Desert Eagle. Its secondary fire fans the hammer much like McCree from Overwatch except it s rarely useful in CS:GO. Here s what it looks like in-game:

As you can see it s highly inaccurate. I suppose if you give it some time, eat your vegetables and practice like there s no tomorrow, you can probably hit a parked bus from two feet away. With a bit of luck. But then you consider that the R8 costs $850, which is $150 more than the Desert Eagle. Even if they both cost the same, I can t find a good reason why anyone would prefer the R8.

Dual Berettas 

These guys may look cool, but twice as many pistols doesn t mean twice as good. They have high rate of fire and lots of ammunition, but they aren t accurate at all. If you want to invest $500 in a pistol, that money is better spent on a Tec-9, CZ75-Auto or a Five-Seven. Some of you might argue that Christopher GeT_RiGhT Alesund from NiP has used the Dual Berettas a lot in the past, but I would suggest that he would ve been better off with a different pistol.

PP-Bizon

The PP-Bizon s magazine holds 64 bullets, which is a lot more than any other SMG in the game. But it stops there. The PP-Bizon has inferior damage, accuracy and armor penetration, which are the three most important qualities you look for in a weapon. It s simply not worth investing in. All the other SMGs can do what the PP-Bizon can do but better, except shoot 64 rounds without reloading but by that time the player using the PP-Bizon is usually dead.

The AUG

The AUG is an assault rifle used by the CTs. It has incredibly good armor penetration and its damage isn t bad. It s also pretty accurate if you know how to use it. Why wouldn t I recommend that anyone use it, then? Because it costs $3300. That s $200 more than an M4A4 or M4A1-s. You get a scope that gives you a smaller field of view when you can shoot just as accurately if not more with any of the M4s without the scope. The AUG isn t a bad weapon per se, but it doesn t make sense to buy one instead of an M4.

SG 553

The SG 553 or Krieg 553 is the terrorist counterpart of the AUG. It s basically the same weapon (give or take a few points here and there) but it costs a massive $3500 when you can get an AK-47 for $2700. In my opinion the AK-47 is the best assault rifle in the game. Compared to the AK-47, the SG 553 is an awful weapon that no one should buy. Ever.

Here s what the spread looks like when you burst:

Essentially, the SG 553 is a very expensive AK-47 that s a lot harder to control.

The M249 and the Negev

These are the classic troll weapons in Counter-Strike. Getting killed by any of these weapons means you just got owned. It s almost as bad as getting knifed, and no one wants to get knifed in CS:GO.

Both the M249 and the Negev have a lot of spread and high recoil. They do put out a lot of damage per second: if you spray. The problem with spraying with these weapons is that they re almost impossible to control. Admittedly the first bullet is pretty accurate, but that alone doesn t warrant a price tag over $5000.

What really makes them bad weapons is the fact that they slow down your movement more than any other weapons in the game more than the AWP, even. We all know that being mobile is the key to staying alive in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and you re not while you re using heavy machine guns.

Did I mention these weapons are used when you want to humiliate your opponents? Pro play is no different. Just have a look at this round by Nathan NBK Schmitt:

This time NBK accidentally bought the Negev but decided to keep it. All I can do is guess, but I think the guys from former Copenhagen Wolves wish that round never happened. As you can see it s still possible to make big plays with weapons you re not supposed to use. CS:GO is a skill-based game and if you re good enough you can make anything work. I do however strongly recommend that you stick to weapons that make more financial sense to buy. You ll simply win more games that way.

Find all of our other Counter-Strike: Global Offensive guides here:

Inferno Counter-Terrorist guideInferno Terrorist guideCache Counter-Terrorist guideCache Terrorist guideOverpass Counter-Terrorist guideOverpass Terrorist guideCobblestone Counter-Terrorist guideCobblestone Terrorist guideTrain Counter-Terrorist guideTrain Terrorist guideMirage Counter-Terrorist guideMirage Terrorist guideDust2 Counter-Terrorist guideDust2 Terrorist guideSupport role guideEntry fragger role guideLurker role guideAWPer role guideTeam leader guideSMGs guideSniper rifles guideAssault rifles guidePistols guide

The CS:GO skin gambling saga continues. After declaring it would start taking action against a list of alleged guilty parties last week, Valve has now cemented its intentions by issuing cease and desist orders to over 20 different gambling sites (including one Dota2 site) for using their Steam accounts for commercial purposes. In turn, this breaches the terms and conditions of the alleged offenders' Steam Subscriber Agreements.

This has been a tricky story to follow, so allow me to recap: although skin gambling in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has existed for about three years, the topic was thrust into the spotlight just over two weeks ago when it emerged betting site CSGO Lotto was in fact owned by two YouTube personalities who d previously promoted the site without obviously declaring their involvement.

If you re unfamiliar with how CS:GO betting works, I d suggest checking out Evan s detailed overview. As players play the game, they earn cases which, when opened, grants them randomised skins for their weapons. In order to open said cases, you ll need to cough up actual money, and once acquired you can trade with other players. Ultimately the websites in question allow users to bet their skins against match outcomes, or use them to gamble in a variety of casino-style, browser-based games.

The short version is that Valve wants to stop this from happening, however to confuse matters further there s also a concurrent case running against Valve where one Michael John McLeod believes the blame lies not with the many CS:GO betting sites, but with Valve for enabling and supporting their existence. Whether this comes to anything is a matter of debate. Regardless, Valve has since denied any connection to gambling sites and last week announced plans to shut them down. (Evan also explored the impact this had on CS:GO skin prices.)

Anyway, the list of guilty websites noted above in its entirety was tweeted out by esports person Wykrhm Reddy last night, and appeared to be corroborated hours later by one of the sites listed CSGOBig who attached Valve s formal complaint. The letter is signed by Valve s general councel Karl Quackenbush and reads as follows:

We are aware that you are operating one of the gambling sites listed below. You are using Steam accounts to conduct this business. Your use of Steam is subject to the terms of the Steam Subscriber Agreement ("SSA"). Under the SSA Steam and Steam services are licensed for personal, non-commercial use only.

Your commercial use of Steam accounts is unlicensed and in violation of the SSA. You should immediately cease and desist further use of your Steam accounts for any commercial purpose. If you fail to do this within ten (10) days Valve will pursue all available remedies including without limitation terminating your accounts.

In response, CSGOBig suggests it is only shutting down temporarily and that it ll definitely be back soon." The wording of Valve s pretty explicit order, though, might suggest otherwise.

We ve contacted Valve for further comment and will update as and when we hear back.