Following an inquiry by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), CS:GO skin trade and gambling website CSGORoll has been shut down in Australia.
The contentious partnership between CSGORoll and G2 Esports, which was widely marketed by the team’s just turned 18-year-old CS:GO star Ilya “M0nESY” Osipov, has ended barely two weeks after it was announced.
According to the ACMA inquiry, CSGORoll was offering “casino-style online games,” which are now prohibited by the country’s Interactive Gambling Act 2001.
In addition to being a skin trade website, CSGORoll lets players change in-game money into a number of casino gaming currencies. Notably, winnings are given out in the form of skins, which may then be exchanged for real money on third-party sites.
If casino-style online games are played for money or “anything else of value,” they are illegal under Australia’s Interactive Gambling Act of 2001.
The ruling underlines the murky waters in which skin gambling transacts in both esports and gambling. Due to the abundance of unlicensed and underage gambling websites, skin gambling in CS:GO has a long and contentious history.
Nerida O’Loughlin, chair of the government agency, outlined the reasoning behind the decision:
“Providing casino-style games online is prohibited in Australia when playing for money or something of value, whether that’s Australian dollars, cryptocurrency or in this case, online gaming skins. Skins gambling services are particularly concerning as they tap into a youth market and have the potential to convert gamers into gamblers.”
Nerida O’Loughlin
The main firm of the website, Feral Holdings Limited, has also received an official warning in addition to CSGORoll‘s removal.
A few significant CS:GO skin trade websites, such as CS.MONEY and CS.TRADE, founded the non-profit Skin Traders Alliance earlier this year. The alliance wants to establish a secure and open environment for the growth of sustainable markets.
