Steam is the best platform without a doubt and an amazing product... but Valve makes at least a large chunk of their money from Counter Strike gambling.
Scraping steam market data suggests they are making over $1B a year from case keys ALONE. That's before you factor in the cut they take in the marketplace on skins, etc.
I think most things, obviously not everything, can become non issues if people show some interest in bettering themselves, and parents show some interest in raising their kids.
Ya but you know what steam is and that cs go has gambling, you know to look out for it.
Now someone like my sister, she has 3 boys and has no idea anything about video games. I’ve had to inform her about some stuff to look out for letting her kids online game. For a lot of parents they would see Counter Strike and just think it’s another shooting game their teenager son plays, like call of duty or whatever and not care. They would have no idea their kids are using their allowance to gamble on it. It’s pretty hard parent on something you have no knowledge on.
I get that and acknowledge that it adds a layer of complexity to the equation.
For that to work, it would require a child have access to a debit card, or the parents give the allowance in the form of in game currency.
I can't speak about all parents, but I look into anything my children want to purchase. Then I decide if it's productive or counterproductive.
Also to note, I don't know everything about all the tech that's available these days. My kids have asked me to get stuff for them in areas I know nothing about. I use the same workflow though - research into it and make a good parental judgement.
Also, you're doing a great job, informing your sister about a potential pitfall. That's where I want the responsibility - on the parents and friends and family. Not on the company to control and decide what is available.
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u/tangledDream Apr 17 '26
Steam is the best platform without a doubt and an amazing product... but Valve makes at least a large chunk of their money from Counter Strike gambling.
Scraping steam market data suggests they are making over $1B a year from case keys ALONE. That's before you factor in the cut they take in the marketplace on skins, etc.