Valve has updated the Steam Code of Conduct and Policy. In a post on the official website, the Steam support team announced their wish “Add context and specificity” in relation to the permitted forms of interaction between users.
Image source: Valve
The updated rules of the platform contain numerous examples of each of the presented points. For more information on all changes, see separate page Steam support. On the list of prohibitions, there are many obvious things related to the use of cheats, the use of obscene language, and the exploitation of minors.
However, the final paragraph of the updated code may apply to all Counter-Strike: Global Offensive skin retailers as it prohibits commercial activities through the platform. Valve is now against running contests, gambling, and buying or selling Steam accounts. The sale of any content for games, gift cards and other merchandise is also now prohibited.
Until now, the gambling ban itself was not explicitly mentioned in the Steam rules and therefore allowed you to safely trade and exchange skins in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in different formats. In some cases, the skins obtained in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive could be used as a medium of exchange or even as an analogue of casino chips.
The problem, specifically for Valve, is that various gaming property trading sites request or demand access to Steam’s unique information about customers: transactions are only processed through the Steam API, which is insecure anyway.
Recently, the market for skins in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has grown dramatically: in April 2023, a record number of cases were opened. This is due to the appearance of a new collection of skins for the Anubis map and a collection of stickers from the Paris major e-sports event.
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