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The lawsuit also takes Valve to task for allowing third-party sites that facilitate the resale of in-game skins for cash. While the suit notes that Valve has “sporadically enforced” rules against so-called skin gambling sites—which use Steam inventories as virtual chips for gambling games—it alleges that Valve “has not acted against sites that permit the sale of Valve’s virtual items.” The suit cites “internal communications” from numerous Valve employees suggesting that the company was OK with such “cash-out services” for Steam items as long as off-platform gambling wasn’t explicitly involved.
We’ll see you in court
In a press release announcing the suit, state Attorney General Letitia James said the gambling Valve’s system enables can “lead to serious addiction problems, especially for our young people. … These features are addictive, harmful, and illegal, and my office is suing to stop Valve’s illegal conduct and protect New Yorkers.”
Back in 2016, Valve faced a pair of civil lawsuits from parents concerned about Valve’s connection to skin gambling sites—those suits were eventually dismissed. Around the same time, Valve received a letter from Washington state threatening “civil or criminal action” if Valve didn’t crack down on skin gambling, but the state stopped short of filing a lawsuit in that matter.
In addition to asking Valve to modify or eliminate its loot box system, the New York suit asks for Valve to make “full restitution to consumers” for the disgorgement of “all monies” received from its gambling system, and for fines of “three times the amount of its gain.” Ars Technica has reached out to Valve for comment.
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