Federal court dismisses CS:GO gambling lawsuit

A U.S District Judge this week granted a motion by the defendants to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed against Valve and others with regards to alleged illegal gambling on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive skins.

The others in this case are owners of several CS:GO gambling websites, including several Youtube personalities like Trevor "TMarTn" Martin, who came under fire this year for promoting a CS:GO gambling website without disclosing that he, and several other Youtube personalities, owned the website in question.

Martin’s in the spotlight again here, because according to the court filing it was Martin who filed the motion to dismiss. U.S. District Judge John C Coughenour granted the motion to dismiss on the grounds that "gambling losses are not sufficient injury to business or property for RICO standing."

It’s a complex legal issue, but as the case was being heard in a federal court, the only thing they could rule on was a federal violation of the RICO act. As the federal court has no jurisdiction on state or local matters, the motion to dismiss was granted.

So, while Valve has benefited from having the lawsuit dismissed, unfortunately so do the people who sought to profit from the once booming CS:GO gambling industry. This business is now mostly dead in the water, following a series of cease and desist letters sent by Valve to several of the biggest CS:GO websites.

The plaintiffs of the case can still seek to appeal or to continue to case in a lower court, but this is a major hurdle for the case to overcome.