Valve’s Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, and Dota Games Have Slot Machine-Like Features That Entice Users to Pay for the Chance to Win Rare Prizes That Can Be Exchanged for Money Lawsuit Alleges Valve’s In-Game “Loot Box” Feature Violates New York’s Gambling Laws and Can Lead to Serious Harms, Especially for Young People
New York Attorney General Letitia James today sued Valve Corporation (Valve), a video game developer, for illegally promoting gambling through video games popular with children and teenagers. An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that Valve’s video games, including Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2, and Dota 2, enable gambling by enticing users to pay for the chance to win a rare virtual item of significant monetary value. In Valve’s most popular game, the process resembles a slot machine, with an animated spinning wheel that eventually rests on a selected item. The randomly selected virtual items have no in-game functionality but can be sold online for money, with one item reportedly being sold for more than $1 million. The lawsuit alleges that Valve has made billions of dollars luring its users, many of whom are teenagers or younger, to engage in gambling in the hopes of winning expensive virtual items that they can cash in on. With this lawsuit, Attorney General James seeks to permanently stop Valve from continuing to promote illegal gambling in its games and to pay disgorgement and fines.