What is Counter-Strike Crash Gambling? (+Safer Alternatives)
If you’re a gamer, or perhaps even a gamer’s mom, then I’m sure you’ve heard about Counter-Strike before.
Counter-Strike stands as one the most successful first-person shooter game franchises that accumulates millions of concurrent players per month.
At the same time, it’s also a franchise that coined the term ‘the dark side of eSports’ due to its ties to gambling.
Wondering what that’s all about? You came to the right place.
What is CS:GO Crash Gambling?
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive crash gambling is a spin on the casino crash games where players deposit and play a crash game with virtual game items called ‘skins’.
👉🏼 These game items and skins are usually acquired in the game or through the Steam marketplace.
If you’ve played Counter-Strike, you know these items have real-world value and can be traded or sold.
If you’ve read our article on crash gambling history, then you know these crash games have been around since 2015, making them one of the earliest crash games in existence.
How Does CS:GO Crash Gambling Work?
Counter-Strike crash games look and feel exactly like all other casino crash games.
The only difference is that you’re not playing with cryptocurrencies; you’re playing with virtual coins or directly with skins.
The main objective and motivation for players of these games is to win exclusive or high-value game items. It’s the same as with crypto; you can win big with a small deposit.
Here is a step-by-step analogy of how crash gambling with items or skins looks in practice:
- Conversion of Skins
Players deposit their Counter-Strike skins at the gambling site, which converts them into coins or credits. This makes it easier to place bets and simplifies the transaction process on the site. - Betting with Coins
Instead of betting skins directly, players use these coins. The coins represent the value of the skins they have deposited. The more rare and exclusive the game item, the more coins they receive. - Winnings
When players win, their payout is also in the form of coins. These coins can then be converted back into skins or other items that can be withdrawn from the site.
It’s essentially the same as ordinary casino crash gambling. You just use virtual coins to convert back to items and skins.
What’s the Problem with CS:GO Crash Gambling?
If it’s essentially the same as ordinary crash gambling in licensed casinos, you might be asking yourself what’s the problem, right?
Well, there are a couple of problems and big ones at that.
Introducing Gambling to Minors
Counter-Strike crash sites started off as something seemingly unharmful; it looked like a mini-game where you could score some super rare skins.
The problem with this is the fact that it’s not just a mini-game; it’s a gambling game, and as such, it can lead to addiction and a serious loss of funds.
The second problem is the entire Counter-Strike gambling scene is unregulated and even marketed to minors. Forbes reported that according to research by a YouTuber named HOUNGOUNGAGNE a staggering 70% of Counter-Strike gamblers played this game while being underage.
At one point, media outlets even called Counter-Strike a brand that became a gateway to gambling for minors and the entire scene around skin gambling became known as the dark side of eSports.
Influencer Affiliation
To add to the controversy, a lot of the so-called ‘Counter-Strike’ YouTubers turned to promoting or even owning these gambling platforms, making huge profits from their viewers, many of which were again minors.
Perhaps the most well-known case is Sparkles, a Counter-Strike YouTuber known for promoting unregulated gambling platforms. What makes this even more sad is that these influencers are well aware of the number of minors watching their content.
Another well-known case of YouTube Counter-Strike gambling promotion is that of TmarTn and ProSyndicate, two legit YouTube gaming stars.
Both were involved in an ongoing scandal involving promoting a particular skin gambling website that, as it later turned out, they were actually the owners of, not just promoters.
Watch the video below for more information on this 2016 scandal.
If you’re wondering what the promotion of sites like that leads to, feel free to read this Reddit thread or find plenty of other ones just like it.
Valve’s Efforts to Shut Down CS Gambling
Back in 2016, Valve, the company behind Counter-Strike, made serious efforts to ban these skin gambling websites, and they succeeded in large part.
They also made sure to cut all ties with these illegal gambling websites, ensuring all allegations of them profiting from these websites were cleared up by stating they have: “no business relationships with any of these sites.”
Counter-Strike Gambling Today
Since 2016-2017 the Counter-Strike gambling scene never got as big as it once was. However, it was at one moment in time a billion-dollar industry and by the looks of the player’s sentiment, it’s making a comeback.
Both this and this Reddit thread discuss how Counter-Strike gambling websites have been on the rise again, much like in 2015, before Valve cracked down on their activities.
It’s also evident that a quick YouTube search on Counter-Strike gambling shows that skin gambling is well and alive today with many YouTubers still promoting various cs gambling sites.
Is it more regulated and safe? You wish; it’s just as deceitful and marketed toward players of all ages as before.
Alternatives to Counter-Strike Crash Gambling
Crash Gambling, as discussed here on Crash Gambler, is not a gimmick disguised as a mini-game.
We’re honest with the fact that crash games are nothing but luck based casino games that can both deliver great profits or devastating losses when luck isn’t on your side.
Additionally, we never promote casinos that cater to minors or those living in areas where gambling is prohibited. The casinos we review are all licensed platforms that operate legally in numerous countries worldwide.
If we happen to stumble upon an unlicensed casino, we make sure to note that.
These tools help you moderate excessive gambling by locking you out of the game if that’s what you need to do.
Here are some of our favorite crash games and the casinos you can find them in:
| Game Name and Provider (click on the game for a full review) | What Makes it Great | Best Casino to Play at |
|---|---|---|
| Crash by BC Originals | – 99% return to player – Advanced betting automation – Provable fairness – Trenball mode | BC.Game |
| Crash by Stake Originals | – 99% return to player – Big player base – High multipliers | Stake |
| Goblin Run by Evoplay | – The only 3D RPG crash game – Provable fairness – Customizable characters | Jackbit |
| Aviator by Spribe | – Most popular crash game – Advanced fairness system – Official UFC sponsor game | Cloudbet |
| Crash by Betfury | – Record 99.02% return to player – Great betting automation – Crash Jackpot feature | Betfury |
Final Thoughts
As much as we love crash gambling of all sorts, it’s absolutely undeniable that Counter-Strike gambling sites promote gambling under false pretenses.
Opening the gateways to gambling to minors is nothing but disgraceful and something that just should not exist.
When you’re of the right age, and you understand that gambling is nothing but a fun pastime, we recommend you choose a licensed casino that actually cares about the well-being of its players.
Until then, thanks for reading and good luck!
