Valve to start blocking accounts that gamble Team Fortress 2 gear

Last year, nearly $5 billion worth of Counter-Strike skins were wagered in online gambling arenas. Now it seems that another of Valve's popular first-person shooters is getting mixed up in unregulated online gambling.

In a short statement shared to the Team Fortress blog today, Valve warned users that it would be taking action against accounts that associate with gambling sites and bet digital Team Fortress 2 items.

Valve has come under fire in the past, both from its users and from Washington State officials, for the way some players have started using Counter-Strike: Global Offensive weapon skins as digital casino chips.

The company has both distanced itself from such activities and banned gambling-related accounts in the past, but lately it seems that similar sites have sprung up to use tradable weapons and hats from Team Fortress 2 for the same purpose.

“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 CS:GO gambling accounts,” said the Team Fortress 2 team.

“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.”