Gambling has found its way into a vast net of pop culture phenomena. Armed with advanced digital technology, operators are gamifying everything from political elections to weather events. Certain offshore entities are subverting already lax regulations by creatively leveraging loopholes to manifest gambling behavior in population segments, namely youth, that may not otherwise have discovered its dopamine-producing allure.
One area that has become particularly vulnerable to gambling’s colonization of generally innocuous communities is video gaming. The average age of a gamer may be 35, but the community starts in their adolescence and fosters their talents in young adult years before frontal lobe development is complete. It is during this phase when they are most vulnerable to developing concerning habits and compulsions. On top of it all, video gamers and online gamblers share many of the same personality traits, which may be why unhealthy gaming is known to cooccur in individuals with gambling disorder.
Running concurrently with gambling’s colonization is increased awareness from self-made consumer watchdogs. These overseers use their influence on platforms such as YouTube and TikTok to expose industries, operators, and affiliates who may be participating in unethical practices. One of the most influential among them is Stephen Findeisen, better known as Coffeezilla. The Coffeezilla YouTube channel investigates online rackets and alerts its over 4.1 million subscribers to the potential harms that may be associated with each. It was only a matter of time that Findeisen would shine a light on the dark world of video game gambling.
Ironically, it was a gambling operator who inadvertently initiated Coffeezilla’s exposé on the industry. They attempted to incentivize Findeisen to pull the curtain back on how a competing gambling platform infiltrated Counter Strike : Global Offensive (CSGO) and its near 2 million global user base. Knowing that a one-sided (and incentivized) investigation would ruin his integrity, Findeisen flipped the script and instead pointed scrutiny right back at the initiating operator, the industry, and rise of CSGO gambling addiction. Coffeezilla’s first exposé dropped on December 18, 2024, which did a deep dive into the “characters” behind the world of CSGO gambling. You can watch the first video here. While informative, we must admit that it’s a little convoluted for those who either have a casual interest in the matter, or those whose lives have been upended by CSGO gambling addiction. Realizing there was more meat on the bones of this story, Findeisen released a followup video on December 22 which better summarizes what’s happening in CSGO, and what it means for the gaming community as a whole.
In response to this recent “The Dark Side of Counter-Strike 2” video, Kindbridge Behavioral Health has selected a number of 60-second clips to provide added context and insight. As America’s foremost digital support platform for problem gambling and unhealthy gaming we are uniquely qualified to supplement Coffeezilla’s investigation with links to resources that we have published on the matter over the last few years. Let’s review.
Kindbridge Responds to Coffeezilla’s Exposé on the Rise of CSGO Skins Gambling Addiction Among Vulnerable Gamers
How Gambling Has Infiltrated CSGO
Findeisen explains how gaming skins are used to help gambling operators infiltrate CSGO. It begins with loot boxes, which Kindbridge has discussed as a gateway to gambling behavior among vulnerable gamers. Skins are leveraged as a form of currency, that isn’t deemed “real money”, which allows operators to subvert regulations that they would face as a typical online casino. This is quite similar to sweepstakes and social casinos that are also embroiled in controversy in the United States.
Gateway to Underage Gambling
Findeisen exposes how underage gamers are being targeted and allowed to participate in CSGO gambling. But how are these platforms able to get away with it? Like with unregulated sports betting platforms in the USA, operators set-up shop in overseas destinations such as Curaçao, Cyrus, and Malta where regulations are as loose as a poorly tied sailor’s knot. And even if there are embargo’s on IP addresses in the United States, barriers can be subverted through a virtual private network (VPN) which is an easy process for tech-savvy gamers of any age.
The Problem with Influencers
It’s easy to point the finger at “evil” overseas operators, however there are other parties who are complicit, namely CSGO streaming influencers who trade ethics for multi-million dollar paydays. Operators are following the same model that casino and sports betting platforms use to reach wider audiences by setting up affiliate deals with influencers. These personas have captive audiences who are influenced by them either through direct prompts to sign-up with CSGO gambling sites and/or via observational learning. And while they admit to knowing that what they are doing is wrong, the money is too good to stop:
Damned if You Do, Damned if You Don’t
Gambling operators have also infiltrated CSGO tournaments and teams through sponsorship. This has made it difficult for teams to opt out due to ethics because doing so would render them uncompetitive against those who do take sponsorship deals:
Does Regulation Even Matter?
Everything above will be very shocking to parents of underage CSGO gamers, and even to loved one’s of adult CSGO players who may have a predisposition to developing problematic gambling behavior. Further, it’s a wakeup call that demands better monitoring and regulation of the gaming world to ensure that gambling operators are not able to penetrate safe spaces even further. CSGO gambling addiction is just the tip of the iceberg of what’s to come if counteraction isn’t taken by gaming/gambling regulators and lawmakers. That being said, as Findeisen indicates, laws and regulations can be fruitless. Loopholes will persist and if one platform or affiliate is shutdown another will pop-up to take its place. CSGO gambling is a billion dollar (yes, billion) industry after all. Consequently, the only truly viable protections include significantly increased awareness, and more importantly, provision of better access to problem gambling support services for the young and vulnerable community. Even one of CSGO gambling’s biggest pundits is making awareness about the underage problem a priority:
And at least there is an ethical minority who refuse to promote gambling, who we encourage to use their influence to join us in spreading awareness:
How Self-Exclusion is Challenged
Monarch (see two clips above) makes another excellent point when discussing how hard it is to escape the clutches of gambling once the compulsion has been formed. Gamers continue to be exposed to triggers to gamble even when they attempt to self-exclude and abstain on their own:
A do-it-yourself social media blackout is not enough. Professional intervention is required to provide compromised individuals with the cognitive tools required to break the chains of problematic gambling behavior.
“If we’re serious about trying to solve this problem, we have to look farther up the food chain than influencers even the casinos, even the eSports leagues. We have to zoom out and see the root cause.” (Stephen Findeisen)
We encourage everyone to watch the Coffeezilla exposé on the rise of CSGO gambling addiction here as it is full of truly shocking information on how the gaming community is being targeted. Further, if you (or loved one) struggle with unhealthy gaming and/or problem gambling be sure to connect to Kindbridge right away to get help.
CALL +1 (877) 426-4258
OR
Email [email protected]
