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Valve shutting down gambling sites, sending notes to stop using Open API.
- Thread starter SteveO409
- Start date
Permanently A
Junior Member
"oh god the lawsuits are coming, time to cover our asses"
So does this kill Legitimate sites like OpSkins where people sell their $3000+ items?
Fuck this lol. Valve might have just killed my $2,000 CSGO inventory.
Please exclude OpSkins lol.
OpSkins doesn't have gambling though does it? So it shouldn't apply to it.
Velcro Fly
Member
they enabled it for as long as possible until it was obvious the shoe was going to drop. congrats to them for doing what they should have been doing from the beginning.
What's so legitimate about it?
The only thing the API does is allow you to login with your steam account and see your inventory. Even without the API you can still ping the users inventories with other methods anyways.
But it will still be just as automated, just slightly less convenient for people to register to the sites, nothing more than that. Gambling was a thing before the OpenID even got introduced.
Zombie James
Banned
Oh, now it's a problem. Good job, Valve.
KINGofCRA5H
Member
Why now, though?
djplaeskool
Member
Welp.
Party's over.
Pack it up boys.
Party's over.
Pack it up boys.
Too much bad publicity. And possible legal issues they don't need to be involved in.
PsychoSoldier
Banned
My only concern is that getting rid of these sites is going to be like whack-a-mole.
At least it will keep the average user from using them as much.
What's amazing is that without the greed of people already making a ton of money, none of this may have gone down.
At least it will keep the average user from using them as much.
What's amazing is that without the greed of people already making a ton of money, none of this may have gone down.
The automation of the trading is not being done through the API though. It happens with CS:GO because people aren't making CS:GO trades, they're making Steam trades with CS:GO items. Steam uses a web based interface for all of its interactions which means that making an automated Steam account works just the same as making an automated Facebook, Youtube, etc account. It doesn't happen with other games because their trading systems are done inside of game clients which has an extremely limited and opaque interface.
Theanine3D
Member
Valve's hands-off policy up until now really wasn't doing them any favors.
This should have happened a long time ago.
This should have happened a long time ago.
It doesn't really make it less automated at all, rather than login through Steam you'll make an account on the gambling site and then they could link this account to your Steam account through a bot.
what?
as soon as they got hit with that lawsuit they decided to "shut down" those gambling sites
looks like valve sped their ass up because of the law... because you know that without the lawsuit they wouldn't have given a shit.
Lactose_Intolerant
Member
I don't know, but that is what Jasper Ward said, one of the lawyers representing the people suing Valve. Now obviously he has a reason for blaming them.
It helps grow counter-strike?
Moral Panic
Member
????
Speedy Blue Dude
Banned
But it "converts skins to currency" which is technically against Valve's TOS. And they still use bots which make webcalls. :/
It's the safest way to sell high value items since OP Skins is a trusted Middle Man.
You give the skin to OP Skins, list it for a price.
Another user buys it, OP skins trades away to said user. OP Skins gives you your money via PayPal.
OP Skins required buyers/seller to submit proof of Idenfication. So, your address, a government ID, your full name.
If the buyer attempts to charge back to "steal" the skin after he recieves it, OP skin takes the loss and Pursues the fraud legally.
A lot safer than trading alone via paypal, and getting -
a chargeback, losing your skin and your money.
Aces&Eights
Member
Translation:
Legal has finally returned our calls and we've done nothing wrong.
Regads,
Gabe
Legal has finally returned our calls and we've done nothing wrong.
Regads,
Gabe
Haven't seen a Casino Games screen in about 20 years.
Felix Lighter
Member
They also need to crack down on the trading bot accounts that these sites use. It should not be that difficult for them to identify the behavior of gambling site trading bot.
Steam Wallet is not determined as real world currency. You can use it to buy things that would otherwise be bought with real money, but you can't take the money out of Steam and deposit it into a bank account.????
????
"real world currency."
if you read it they haven't actually done anything. They're just going to ask sites to stop and then maybe do something if they don't
they haven't actually fixed the root problem which is turning game content into casino chips.
Prophet Steve
Member
????
Steam currency is not real world currency.
GruntOfAction
Member
????
Technically that turns it into steam wallet funds which you cannot get out of steam into real money, only spendable on the steam platform.
dave is ok
aztek is ok
????
Where is the 'cash out' button? Your money is still stuck in Steam Wallet.
I hope Rocket League will use Steam Marketplace now, but I'm guessing they still won't.
????
Yes because I can totally go outside and buy a couple baguettes with my steam wallet.
This times 1000, this is them finally saying, if we don't do something we can be considered implicit in illegal gambling. Granted this may not totally cover their asses, but it is a show of good faith.
The issue I have is why the hell they let it go on this long? I mean why did it take some scheme being exposed? Oh I know, Valve made money and benefited from the whole scene so as long as no one got hurt they were cool.
????
brb, going to buy myself a house with my steam wallet money!
(you do realize what real money is, yes? It isn't steam wallet)
sleepwalkcapsules
Member
About time.
I think what Valve is trying to say is to everyone that has items in deposit on these sites to do a "bank run" before they shut down everything.
I wonder what will be the economic implications of it?
I think what Valve is trying to say is to everyone that has items in deposit on these sites to do a "bank run" before they shut down everything.
I wonder what will be the economic implications of it?
????
They're technically correct, that's Steam credit. You cannot cash out your Steam credit.
However with the CSGO gambling controversy, people make transactions among themselves for real money, and that's where it comes from.
Stone Ocean
Member
I'm sorry
Glass Shark
Banned
Kind of a disingenuous move on Valve's part. This note reads like they were surprised by this or that it's a recent thing. People have been using this system for years to do gambling with Steam items and Valve has let it happen. Only now that someone's gotten caught doing shady stuff do they feel the need to do something.
I'm typically a Valve apologist, but they should not be applauded for this.
I'm typically a Valve apologist, but they should not be applauded for this.
Prophet Steve
Member
Because people weren't complaining much about if before this. Now people are suddenly super enraged. If it was so wrong, why did it take people so long to get this outraged?
And besides that, Valve can be a bit deaf and tend to take as little action as they can.
So it's not legitimate, just a safer way to get around Steam rules. You are not supposed to sell these items for real money.
This is a smart business decision by Valve. They can see the tidal wave of regulatory lawsuits coming and are cutting and running as fast as possible. Gambling is highly regulated in the US espeically to minors (where it is VERY illegal), so running afoul of those laws even tangentially or to be seen as aiding or abetting those who do is a BAD thing.
It's just my opinion, but I also thing the clock is ticking for a lot of the "gatcha" style random distribtuion slot machines in mobile gaming, which is where some of these gambling sites seemed to get their ideas. Sooner or later a zealous lawmaker will get wind of how these slot machines actually work and then the entire ecosystem that relies on them will be put in jeopardy by the acts of a very greedy few. Hopefully developers and marketers shape up and don't grab so hard for the easy money that they bring down the law on the entire mobile market.
Don't get me wrong, I doubt the "gatcha" style mobile is true gambling in the same way these Steam sites are, but it isn't that far off. All it would take is one lawmaker super into Puzzle and Dragons (or whatever) to get burned hard and then regulations might capsize a bunch of the mobile market.
It's just my opinion, but I also thing the clock is ticking for a lot of the "gatcha" style random distribtuion slot machines in mobile gaming, which is where some of these gambling sites seemed to get their ideas. Sooner or later a zealous lawmaker will get wind of how these slot machines actually work and then the entire ecosystem that relies on them will be put in jeopardy by the acts of a very greedy few. Hopefully developers and marketers shape up and don't grab so hard for the easy money that they bring down the law on the entire mobile market.
Don't get me wrong, I doubt the "gatcha" style mobile is true gambling in the same way these Steam sites are, but it isn't that far off. All it would take is one lawmaker super into Puzzle and Dragons (or whatever) to get burned hard and then regulations might capsize a bunch of the mobile market.
OrbitalBeard
Member
Better late than never, I suppose.
It doesn't change my opinion on Valve though. I never thought they'd become this type of company.
It doesn't change my opinion on Valve though. I never thought they'd become this type of company.