Valve has introduced a major new rule that bans the promotion of skin gambling, case-opening, and skin trading websites at officially licensed esports tournaments that uses its games, including Counter-Strike 2 (CS2).
The policy change, announced December 9, 2025, affects every level of competition from big events like the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025 to small local tournaments. The rule is very broad. It bans showing logos or ads for these sites anywhere on a broadcast.
That includes team jerseys, sponsor graphics, stage signs, or anything else viewers might see on stream. Tournament organisers also can no longer take sponsorship money from companies that offer services involving Valve game inventories, such as skin-trading sites or key resellers. Some of the sponsors now banned include Skin.Club, SkinRave, Hellcase and key resellers like Kinguin.
The change has already had a big impact. Top teams such as Team Vitality, MOUZ, and The MongolZ have removed their skin-related sponsors ahead of the Budapest Major. Smaller teams are expected to be hit even harder as many relied heavily on these sponsors, and without that income some may face serious financial trouble. Smaller tournaments may feel the impact as well, since they often depend on the same advertisers.
Valve’s official Limited Game Tournament License, Section 2.4.e – IP Protection mentions, “Licensee must not distribute or display, including on team jerseys or in any other content that may be visible during the broadcast, any content or material that either violates Valve IP or the terms of the Steam Subscriber Agreement (for example, game case opening sites or skin trading sites). Licensee will not accept sponsorships from sponsors that generate revenue through activities that violate applicable Valve agreements or violate local law or rely on Valve’s game economies.”
Notably, normal cash gambling companies like casinos and sportsbooks are still allowed as sponsors. Valve says this is because they use real money and do not rely on Steam items or break Valve’s agreements.
Follow The Esports Radar on social media:
