Skip to main content

Valve starts cracking down on ‘Team Fortress 2’ gambling websites

valve team fortress 2 gambling shutdown pokernight
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Valve has continued its crackdown on online gambling sites taking advantage of its open APIs by blocking the accounts of Team Fortress 2 gambling sites, the company announced Friday.

Like the Counter-Strike gambling sites that put Valve in hot water last year, Team Fortress 2 gambling sites allow users to gamble their in-game items, which have monetary values based on their rarity. The sites are able to operate because Valve’s games use an open API and Valve has traditionally washed its hands of any responsibility for how individuals use this data.

That changed in 2016 when controversy erupted over two YouTubers, Trevor “Tmartn” Martin and Tom “ProSyndicate” Cassel, who were revealed as the owners of a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive gambling site they had promoted in videos. Valve came under fire in the controversy and although the company maintained its innocence in how others choose to use its APIs, Valve did issue several cease-and-desist letters.

Valve has now taken a similar stance on TF2 gambling sites.

“In July of last year we outlined our position on gambling web sites, specifically noting that Valve has no business relationship with these sites. At that time we also began blocking many CSGO gambling accounts,” the company’s statement said. “More recently, some gambling web sites started leveraging TF2 items. Today we began the process of blocking TF2 gambling accounts as well. We recommend you don’t trade with these sites.”

Given that it involves online gambling that minors could potentially have access to (particularly as the sites have been promoted by YouTubers), this issue goes way beyond the world of video games. The Washington State Gambling Commission has issued threats to Valve and there are ongoing lawsuits against both TmarTn, one of the YouTubers involved (the other, ProSyndicate, moved back to the U.K.), and Valve.

Whatever happens in those cases, it’s probably best to take a lesson from this: Don’t trust sketchy websites that let you gamble on in-game items or YouTubers who promote them.

Editors' Recommendations

Michael Rougeau
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Mike Rougeau is a journalist and writer who lives in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and two dogs. He specializes in video…
Video game voice actors are poised for a strike after successful SAG-AFTRA vote
The Last of Us 2 Ellie Gun

Hollywood is currently in the middle of a significant actors strike, and the same could potentially happen soon in the video game industry as well. SAG-AFTRA members voted to authorize a game actors strike, setting the stage for a potential disruption in the industry if current negotiations with publishers don't go according to plan.

The SAG-AFTRA union represents actors across all entertainment mediums, but the strike that's been active since July excluded the game industry. The game industry's separate contract with the actors' union is almost up, so SAG-AFTRA is in the heat of negotiations with companies like Activision Blizzard, Take-Two Interactive, and WB Games to create a better contract for its workers. If those negotiations fail, video game actors can go on strike to disrupt the game industry for failing to adequately meet their demands. A strike like that needs to be authorized by a majority of the union's members, though; thankfully for SAG-AFTRA, internal support was overwhelming.
A total of 34,687 SAG-AFTRA members cast ballots in a vote to authorize a strike, and 98.32% of them supported a strike authorization, according to a SAG-AFTRA press release. This doesn't mean video game actors are now on strike, just that they're willing to go on one if negotiations fail. SAG-AFTRA says these game studios "have refused to offer acceptable terms on some of the issues most critical to our members, including wages that keep up with inflation, protections around exploitative uses of artificial intelligence, and basic safety precautions," which is why a strike was organized.
SAG-AFTRA and these video game companies are in bargaining sessions between today and September 28, so we'll soon see what impact this successful strike authorization vote will have on the video game industry. 

Read more
Will Payday 3 get an offline mode?
Character posing for Payday 3 promo art.

It's no secret to anyone who attempted to play Payday 3 near its launch that it had more than a few issues. This co-op shooter is built on the idea of you and three friends teaming up to pull off various heists to collect money, level up, and unlock new skills -- and then repeat it all on higher difficulty levels. However, due to some major server issues, the majority of people haven't been able to find matches at all, leading to a major outcry for an offline mode since there's no way to interact with the game otherwise. As of now, the game remains an always-online experience. Fortunately, developer Starbreeze Studios has been quick to respond to player feedback, but do its plans include an offline mode?
Is Payday 3 getting an offline mode?

At a developer live stream on September 25, Almir Listo, global brand director for Starbreeze, said there are currently no plans to create an offline mode for Payday 3. Listo further explained the server issues that had been occurring so far, stating that "Payday 3 matchmaking infrastructure has not performed as tested and expected. Matchmaking software encountered an unforeseen error which made it unable to handle the massive influx of players. The issue caused an unrecoverable situation for Starbreeze's matchmaking partners." The team is evaluating all solutions in both the short and long term, including seeking out new matchmaking partners.

Read more
The best Bethesda games of all time
Soldiers about to fight with a giant in the background.

Bethesda is one of the rare cases of a game developer finding so much success that it branched out to become one of the biggest publishers in the Western gaming market. While not quite as gigantic as the likes of Activision or EA, Bethesda has a great stable of developers, itself included, that have made some of the most ambitious games on the market. Whether it's the cutting-edge technology coming out of ID Software, the high-octane FPS action of Machine Games, or even the more experimental titles from Arkane, Bethesda's name is attached to far more than just its high-profile RPG series.

Since it was acquired by Microsoft, all of Bethesda's games, including the games made by the studios under it, will be console-exclusive to the X-box platform moving forward. However, there is a long history of games already released for multiple platforms, and between all the studios Bethesda is in charge of, there are games of all types to check out. You will obviously know the major players here, such as The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, but there are way more Bethesda games that are just as good. That's why we've rounded up this list of the best Bethesda games of all time.

Read more