Valve has revised the rules for conducting Counter-Strike 2 tournaments — the company has tightened control over how its intellectual property is used. The changes affected both the operational requirements for tournaments (TOR) and the license for competitive events.
Now the organizers of CS2 tournaments cannot allow, moreover, teams are required to remove any advertising of gambling sites on skins and case openings from players’ T-shirts. This applies to both rated and non-rated tournaments.
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Valves ban on advertising skin gambling and case opening sites in CS2 broadcasts
The updated license for holding limited gaming tournaments clearly regulates: During official broadcasts, it is forbidden to show logos or any advertising of services related to case opening, trading skins or betting on CS2 skins.
Event organizers must not distribute or display, either on team T—shirts or in any other content included in the broadcast, materials that violate Valve’s intellectual property or contradict the terms of the agreement with Steam subscribers.
The reason for this new license clause is a ban on contracts with sponsors whose income is based on activities that violate Valve agreements, local laws, or exploit the gaming economy of the company.
It cannot be ignored: the changes do not affect the sponsorship of regular bookmakers and betting platforms that are not related to skins.
Valves new tournament operation requirements: Impact on CS2 ecosystem and teams
The journalists were the first to report the updates. These rules can be a serious challenge for the Counter-Strike 2 ecosystem. Many teams competing in major tournaments have been working with skin gambling sites for years, with logos of such services emblazoned on their uniforms.
The impact of Valve’s new policy on the license of limited gaming tournaments is still difficult to fully assess. Tournament organizations and operators are just beginning to adapt to the new requirements.
The teams participating in StarLadder Budapest Major 2025, apparently, learned about the upcoming changes in advance. The SkinRave sponsorship logo has disappeared from NRG T-shirts, while the CSFAIL mention has disappeared from the Aurora Gaming uniforms.
Taking into account that teams and individual players often enter into partnership agreements with skin trading sites as part of various projects, the long-term consequences of the latest adjustment to Valve’s guidelines promise to be interesting. This is especially true for second-tier teams, for which such sponsorship often becomes the main source of funding.
Time will tell how the industry will adapt to the new realities if Valve continues to tighten its policy regarding the use of its IP at official CS2 tournaments.
Why Valve is increasing its Control: The History of Skin Gambling in CS2
Valve has tightened the rules around skins in CS2 to defend esports integrity and stop gambling scandals, the very issues that have been eroding the community’s trust for decades. If we recall the history of the skin markets, it becomes clear: third-party platforms with roulettes and cases have been squeezing the juices out of past controversies, starting with CS:GO loot box crisis of 2016, when Valve shut down sites like OPSkins for illegal betting.
The main causes of crackdown
Player protection: Scammers stamped fake CS2 skins, pushing fake items into Steam — millions of losses covered the market. Now verification of every purchase is required in order not to run into a fake.
Market control: The red Alchemy update has brought down the prices of knives and gloves, redirecting the entire trade flow to the Steam Market — Valve will withdraw its 15% commission without options.
Tournament purity: Advertising of gambling sites at Major CS2 tournaments is now banned, so as not to repeat the disgrace of roulette sponsorship.
Timeline esports integrity
Valve started a story on this topic with CS:GO bans in 2016, and by 2025 it had evolved to: ban skin betting at official events, and verify deals. This is a long-term bet on stability, minimizing risks for millions of users.
