Since 2013, the CS2 skins market has grown exponentially, at a seriously rapid rate. Less than a decade ago, Counter-Strike skins didn’t even exist, but today, the market as a whole is worth some five billion dollars. It’s massively lucrative, and as a result, there are many people who have tried to take advantage of it. To that end, CS2 casino platforms began popping up all over the internet, offering players the ability to gamble using CS2 skins.
However, this practice isn’t as clear-cut as it seems, and in some cases, it can be massively risky. These platforms are essentially unregulated, unlicensed, and totally unsupported by Valve, the creator of CS2. What does this mean for CS2 skin gambling, and why are CS2casinos inherently dangerous places to visit?
Let’s find out.
Enter the CS2 Gambling Scandal
As CS2 became much more popular, so too did esports betting focused on the title. Today, CS2 makes up the biggest portion of all esports betting, followed closely behind by the likes of League of Legends and Dota 2. Although the growth and value isn’t always a good thing – where there’s a lucrative area, there will always be people looking to take advantage of it.
In 2020, a major investigation was launched into what was then dubbed the CSGO gambling scandal. After several months of digging into allegations, it was revealed that numerous Counter-Strike players and coaches had been fixing and exploiting matches to their advantage. Ultimately, it was further revealed that it was far from being the only instance of Counter-Strike match-fixing. In fact, the investigation turned up similar malicious acts in other titles, like Valorant.
When it comes to CS2 casino platforms, we will admit that, for the most part, they’re not built to be inherently malicious. While they’re unregulated and unlicensed, some of them are very popular, and users agree that they’re created with good intentions. However, when using peer-to-peer skin trading and gambling platforms, there’s never really any true protection in place to stop you from being scammed.
Like the Counter-Strike gambling scandal, there are always people out there looking to make a quick buck. If that means taking advantage of an honest, innocent trader, then that’s what they’ll do.
See also: Best CS2 Betting Sites
What Does a CS2 Casino Look Like?
For the most part, the many CS2 casino platforms out there offer a relatively similar service. When you sign up to these platforms, you’ll do so by linking your Steam account – which Valve explicitly warns against doing. At that point, you’ll be able to stake your CS2 skins in various casino-styled games, such as roulette, or use CS2 skins to purchase on-platform tokens.
These platforms typically will not use real-world currency as their financial model of choice. If they were to promote real-money gambling, they’d need extensive licensing and regulations, which of course doesn’t exist for CS2 casino websites. However, the platforms that are licensed are the countless legitimate CS2 gambling sites out there, like GG.bet, Betway, and Loot.bet.
With that being said, the majority of these platforms offer free CS2 casino activities, as you’re not really spending money – you’re using skins. Ultimately, there’s no real requirement for the Counter-Strike 2 casino skins you can use, as any Counter-Strike skin boasts an inherent value.
What CS2 Casino Platforms Exist Today?
We’ll certainly not say that any of these are the best CS2 casino websites, but we will highlight the ones that exist, for reference.
CSGORoll.com
This platform offers an extensive affiliate program, through which content creators and streamers can entice people onto the site. There’s a dedicated PVP section and an assortment of relatively generic games like CS2 slots, Dice, Roll and CS2 Crash.
CSGOLuck.com
Again, like CSGORoll.com, CSGOLuck offers a range of games that are designed for CS2 skin gambling. It encourages users to sign up by offering free Counter-Strike cases, which provide players with free Counter-Strike 2 casino skins. However, like all the other platforms, it’s still unregulated.
CSGOEmpire.com
CSGOEmpire is one of the oldest Counter-Strike skin gambling platforms out there. It’s quite simple and doesn’t boast too much depth, but it’s one of the most popular platforms that exist in this space. At any point, there can be around one thousand concurrent users, all taking part in Counter-Strike skin gambling.
Ultimately, we should stress one more time that these platforms aren’t completely safe to use. If you want to take part in playing with CS2 odds, you should use one of the many top-tier esports betting sites that exist out there today. They’re licensed, regulated, safe, and above all else, potentially profitable.
