Valve's Position
Valve has never run or endorsed skin gambling. In 2016 it sent cease-and-desist letters to gambling sites using Steam accounts for trading and has since added trade holds and API restrictions that make large-scale skin movement harder. Using a skin site does not break Steam's rules for you as a player, but Valve can and does ban bot accounts the sites use, which is one reason withdrawals sometimes stall.
United States
There is no federal law that names skin gambling. Gambling is regulated by state, and most states define it as staking something of value on chance for a prize of value. Whether a skin is 'something of value' is the open question, and Washington is the state that answered it: its gambling commission ordered Valve to stop facilitating skin gambling in 2016 and treats skin sites as unlicensed gambling. Several class actions have been filed against skin sites and against Valve.
The practical result is that almost every reputable site blocks US IP addresses. CSGORoll, CSGOEmpire, 500 Casino, Stake, Roobet, Gamdom and Duelbits all list the US as restricted. Case-opening sites such as Hellcase, Key-Drop and Clash.gg generally remain accessible, on the argument that opening a case for an item is not gambling for money. Stake.us is a separate sweepstakes product that operates under US sweepstakes law and does not offer skins or match betting.
United Kingdom
The Gambling Commission said in 2017 that skins are money's worth when they can be cashed out, and that sites offering skin gambling to UK players need a licence. It prosecuted two operators of a CS:GO gambling site the same year. No skin site holds a UK licence, so every site on this page blocks the UK. UK players who want to bet on CS2 matches can do so through UKGC-licensed bookmakers.
European Union
Rules differ by member state. The Netherlands (KSA) treats loot boxes and skin gambling as gambling and has fined operators; France's regulator took the same view; Germany's 2021 treaty requires a German licence for any online gambling. All three appear on most sites' restricted lists, as do Spain, Italy and Sweden for the crypto casinos. Other EU countries are generally accessible, with the site's Curaçao licence doing the legal work.
Australia & Elsewhere
Australia's Interactive Gambling Act bans online casino products offered to Australians, and most skin sites block the country. Canada is accessible outside Ontario, which runs its own licensed market. Most of Latin America, Asia outside a few jurisdictions, and Eastern Europe are accessible, which is where the bulk of skin-gambling traffic now comes from.
What This Means in Practice
- If a site blocks your country, that is the site's legal judgement; using a VPN to get round it usually breaks the site's terms and can void withdrawals
- Case-opening sites are accessible in more places than gambling sites because their legal position is different
- Match betting through a licensed bookmaker is legal in most countries, including the UK
- You must be 18 or older everywhere; some jurisdictions set 21
- Tax treatment of winnings varies by country; in the UK gambling winnings are not taxed, in the US they are
FAQ
Is CS2 gambling legal in the US?
No state has legalised it and Washington has acted against it, so reputable gambling sites block US players. Case-opening sites generally remain accessible.
Is CS2 gambling legal in the UK?
Not without a UKGC licence, which no skin site holds. All sites on this page block the UK.
Can I use a VPN to access a blocked site?
It breaks the site's terms, and sites void withdrawals when they detect it. Not recommended.