ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) has banned esports organizations from promoting CS2 skin trading, case-opening, or skin gambling sites. The move comes after Valve implemented a similar ban last year.
EFG updated its rules on Tuesday ahead of the second season of 2026. Under sponsor restrictions, it adds, “Sponsors that violate Valve’s IP, including companies that interact with players’ Valve game inventories, are also prohibited.”
It further stipulates that, “Where a team’s official branding incorporates the branding of a prohibited sponsor, the team must also provide an alternative version that complies with this rule.”
Valve introduced its ban on skin trading, gambling, or case-opening sites sponsoring teams in December last year. Teams are prohibited from displaying promotions for these companies on their jerseys or in any other content visible during broadcasts.
Despite the ban, some teams continue to have deals with prohibited sites. For example, Team Vitality still lists Skin.Club and Skin.Land among its partners.
MongolZ similarly continues to promote CSGO Skins, a case-opening and skin-trading site. Mouz is also sponsored by G4Skins.
In live competitions, the three teams, and others, are forbidden from displaying those sponsors on their merchandise and instead feature gambling companies as their primary sponsors.
Team Vitality signed a deal with Stake last year, MongolZ has long been sponsored by 1xBet, and Mouz promotes Fonbet.
All three companies are licensed in offshore jurisdictions and officially prohibited in the US, most of Europe, and much of Asia.
The UK is clamping down on unlicensed gambling companies sponsoring sports teams, primarily in soccer. There is no indication yet that Valve intends to implement such a ban, with many esports teams relying on offshore gambling sponsors for revenue to survive.
Valve Under Scrutiny Over Encouraging Gambling
Valve distancing itself from skin gambling and trading sites is one move to protect the company from regulators.
In its defense against a lawsuit brought by New York’s Attorney General Letitia James, the company argues its terms clearly prohibit these third-party trading and gambling platforms.
James claims the company is not doing enough to stop the illegal trading and that Valve also encourages users to gamble through opening loot boxes in its games.
Valve, along with Riot Games and other gaming companies, had to pay multi-million dollar fines in Brazil recently after a judge ruled loot boxes encourage minors to gamble.
Skin gambling sites are less of a gray area, and as such, Valve and now EFG are taking steps to curb the expansion of these platforms.
