CSGO Lounge move towards licenses in wake of Valve cease and desist

In the latest twist in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive gambling saga, the people behind CSGO Lounge have finally responded to the Valve cease and desist letter—but they won’t be shutting it down.

Instead, they will begin the process of acquiring gambling licenses in a number of countries, and will shut off betting in those areas until the process is completed, they announced on the site yesterday.

The countries affected include the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Spain, and Turkey.

CSGO Lounge was one of 23 gambling sites hit with a cease and desist letter by Counter-Strike developer Valve over use of Steam accounts for commercial purposes.

Users in those countries will still be able to withdraw skins that were on the site before this change took effect, but will be unable to bet until Lounge acquires a license for their country of residence. Representatives also said that they are working on new features for the site that will allow users to stay “engaged” while the process is ongoing.

In theory, this potentially means that Lounge could accept real money bets from some countries in the future alongside skin bets.

While this statement does show CSGO Lounge attempting to answer the questions of legality surrounding the skin betting market, it does not directly address Valve’s accusation in the cease and desist letter. No statement was made on whether or not CSGO Lounge would stop using Steam accounts as part of its business.

If Valve is not satisfied by CSGO Lounge’s statement, the ten-day deadline given in the cease and desist will expire in the coming days.

Lounge is a match betting site as opposed to the more common casino-style site. Many credit the attention it draws to all levels of professional Counter-Strike as a key reason for increased viewership in recent times.