Valve has updated its sponsor policies to prevent Counter-Strike 2 players from sporting skins betting or casino-seeding site logos on their jerseys. The company amended its Tournament Operating Requirements (TOR) and adjusted the Limited Game Tournament License, which changes how third parties can use Valve’s intellectual property.
Having logos on jerseys was a workaround for skins gambling sites after the previous ban on these companies running ads during broadcasts. Another aspect of the license change is that organizers of tournaments can’t partner with sponsors that make money through activities which “violate applicable Valve agreements or violate local law or rely on Valve’s game economics.”
Valve’s changes will hit the revenue of certain high-profile teams, as these can be quite lucrative sponsors. The total skins market value recently topped $6bn. NRG had a deal with SkinRave, and Aurora Gaming displayed CSFAIL’s logo on their jerseys up until the StarLadder Budapest Major 2025. No team displayed any logos during the event, which suggests they received advance notice of the impending rule change.
teams can still partner with traditional online gambling operators
Despite the increasing restrictions on skin betting platforms, teams can still partner with traditional online gambling operators. Tournament organizers just need to be careful about showing age-restricted content and adhere to regional advertising laws.
