Our summary on the CSGO lottery controversy has led to what is suppose to be a conclusion to the service with Valve sending out the Cease and Desist letter to the various companies. It was found that one of the biggest sites on the letter, ‘CSGO Lounge’ who also owns ‘Dota 2 Lounge’ have set a notice on their website stating their plans on obtaining a Gambling License in order to continue operations.
The notice mentions how CSGO Lounge did not do anything that warrants its activities being label as illicit, citing that virtual items in Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive ‘have no monetary value and any community interaction with the virtual items is meant only for entertainment, without any profit interest’. It was further explained that there was no commission or profit received by the team until July this year where the money was used to improve systems and infrastructure.
Instead of standing still and shutting down, CSGO Lounge has decided to “acquire a license to legally operate in most of the countries and be able to accept the eSports bets by our community, as if it would be real money”. For the time being, starting Monday 1st, August 2016, betting will have limited accessibility in certain regions and countries that have online eSports betting.
The following countries will no longer be able to use the betting feature, but will still be able to withdraw winnings and deposits made previously: Belgium, France, French Guiana, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Martinique, French Polynesia, Reunion, Mayotte, Turkey, Spain, Scotland, Israel, United Kingdom and United States. The list of company may change over time depending on the situation.
If CSGO Lounge’s plan comes to fruition, it is likely that various other lotto sites could look into this avenue in order to stay afloat. Whether or not obtaining a license will absolve these sites from the stigma in place is to be determined over time.