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NEW EPISODE: Valve's Gambling Problem
🕑 Added 2022-11-07 14:48:20 +0000 UTCHey patrons!
You might remember in 2016, a couple of YouTubers got into some real trouble for 'promoting' a CS:GO skin betting website to their extremely young and impressionable audiences. Unfortunately it turned out your boys Syndicate and TmarTn actually owned the site in question and hadn't thought to mention that as they streamed themselves winning bets and having a great time.
When the truth finally came out, it caused a huge amount of controversy, culminating in a now iconic apology video involving a Labrador.
If none of what I've just typed makes much sense to you, don't worry about it. In short, a few years ago, Counter-Strike players were gambling away real money on dodgy, unofficial betting sites that were being promoted by all sorts of opportunistic crooks. Once these headlines started hitting the mainstream press, Valve stepped in and started sending out cease and desist letters to these sites in an effort to clean up their image and that was that.
Except, it turns out, it wasn't.
Six years later, Valve now seems pretty disinterested in continuing to police this space and inevitably these sites have evolved as a result.
Join Quinns as he tries to make sense of it all by interviewing players who've developed gambling problems via these sites, as well as former Valve employees who offer opinions on why the company is so hands-off.
Comments
Karri Lybeck
One more important thing to add to the long list of issues that should be regulated in the EU (if there was any regulation)...
This is the greatest username of all time.
I miss when Valve was in the game development business rather than the Casino business
ChatN
Appaling! Valve's actions, I mean. Not the reporting. The reporting is top notch, as always. Can't wait for part 2.
Dominique Charbonneau
Extremely relevant and interesting content, as always! You never cease to impress.
Luna
Stuff like this is why I *refuse* to work in the game industry.
Mat Gadd
Ah fantastic, thank you!
Diego Sarmentero
Thanks for the work you do, I work in the game industry and it's nice to see someone trying to make the industry accountable on bad practices
People Make Games
They're in the works atm! Will be available on the video within the next 24 hours. Sorry for the delay.
Mat Gadd
Love the content, but struggling a bit due to my hearing. Could there be subtitles, please?
