Lawyer calls Valve's silence in CS:GO betting scandal "unconscionable"

Jasper Ward, one of the lawyers who filed a gambling lawsuit against Valve, believes it's high time the publisher made a public statement.

Lawyer calls Valve's silence in CSGO betting scandal "unconscionable"

The plot continues to thicken in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive betting scandal, with other YouTube stars speaking out on their unethical behavior while potential civil lawsuits pile up. But perhaps the most bizarre element of it all? Valve's silence, which is odd considering all this gambling occurred on its games platform.

Jasper Ward, one of the lawyers who filed a lawsuit against Valve last month, certainly isn't impressed. In an interview with Polygon, Ward claimed that Valve is responsible for allowing an illegal gambling operation to flourish, and that staying silent now is indefensible.

"Valve is like a bar owner who lets people set up roulette wheels and blackjack tables in the back, sells chips to teenagers on their way in the door, and then makes people cash out at the pawn shop across the street," Ward said. "Oh, and it has created a new game it owns and on which those kids can gamble, then lets the bookies take bets on it in the corner booth.

"The fact that it's Valve's server and software instead of a bar, and Steam's API instead of a physical roulette wheel and international websites like OPSkins instead of a pawn shop and Lounge instead of a bookie in the corner booth doesn't change what Valve is doing: it has created a gambling ecosystem out of thin air, and its customers are getting scammed and losing money on rigged websites as a result.

"But Valve should have a chance to tell its side of the story, and we are anxiously awaiting their explanation."

The thing is, Valve hasn't responded to the allegations, let alone offered a public statement that its currently investigating the matter. And while Valve isn't obligated to make a statement, Ward is troubled by the fact that it unblocked CSGOlotto.

"Valve's decision to unblock Lotto after this is mind boggling and I look forward to getting answers from Valve's key decision makers on that," Ward continued. "Or even a quote on the record from someone at Valve about the Skins gambling economy would be a good start. Valve's public silence while privately helping gambling sites operate in the Steam Marketplace is unconscionable."