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New York sues Valve over illegal gambling via game loot boxes

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New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against Valve Corporation, alleging that the company promotes illegal gambling through loot boxes in its games. The lawsuit claims that Valve's loot box features violate state gambling laws by offering random virtual prizes that can be exchanged for real money, similar to slot machines. The lawsuit targets loot box features in Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2, and Dota 2, which allow players to pay for virtual containers with randomly selected items. The lawsuit highlights the potential harm to children, as they may be drawn into loot box purchases to win rare items and boost social status within gaming communities. The market for Counter-Strike weapon skins has ballooned into a multibillion-dollar economy, with individual items sometimes fetching prices over $1 million. Valve is accused of skewing the odds of winning rare items to make them more valuable, and the lawsuit seeks to permanently bar Valve from operating loot box features in New York, require Valve to return all profits generated by the practice, and impose fines for the alleged violations.

Timeline

  1. 26.02.2026 13:44 1 articles · 3h ago

    New York sues Valve for promoting illegal gambling via game loot boxes

    New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against Valve Corporation, alleging that the company promotes illegal gambling through loot boxes in its games. The lawsuit claims that Valve's loot box features violate state gambling laws by offering random virtual prizes that can be exchanged for real money, similar to slot machines. The lawsuit targets loot box features in Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2, and Dota 2, which allow players to pay for virtual containers with randomly selected items. The lawsuit highlights the potential harm to children, as they may be drawn into loot box purchases to win rare items and boost social status within gaming communities. The market for Counter-Strike weapon skins has ballooned into a multibillion-dollar economy, with individual items sometimes fetching prices over $1 million. Valve is accused of skewing the odds of winning rare items to make them more valuable, and the lawsuit seeks to permanently bar Valve from operating loot box features in New York, require Valve to return all profits generated by the practice, and impose fines for the alleged violations.

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