Play real money roulette with CS:GO and PUBG skins
The way CS:GO has taken the gaming and eSports world by storm over the past couple of years has given rise to some whole new related sectors and sub-industries that nobody would even have thought of five years ago.
One of the most intriguing is that of skin gambling. This is where game enthusiasts can use the in-game items they have accumulated during gameplay as a form of real money currency in a number of gambling scenarios, including traditional online casino games like roulette.
The value of skins
The idea of skins having a value outside the game in which they were acquired is not a new one. In fact, it was seen as one of the core attractions of skins when they were first introduced in the Arms Deal upgrade in 2013.
It was immediately obvious that players would be interested in trading skins and case keys between themselves, and this is exactly the sort of enterprise that steam funds are there for. Of course, as anyone who has a steam wallet will know, the issue here is that you cannot withdraw funds from your steam wallet, and there is a maximum fund limit of $500.
The way around this was to open up the market and let other apps connect to the steam wallet. This allows users to do more with their resources, to buy and sell without the $500 constraint and to cash out their proceeds if they so wish.
From virtual skins to real money roulette
One of the most popular, and also entertaining, way of converting virtual skins into real money is via online roulette gaming apps. Skins have a monetary value, and like any traded commodity, this fluctuates over time. The roulette site will essentially accept your CS:GO or PUBG skin as a type of betting chip.
The skin is placed in a virtual pot, and if you win, you get it back, along with additional skins as winnings.
The US Legality question
The question of legality for online gambling within the US is one that is never far from the headlines, and the rise of skin gambling has raised plenty of debate. The point is that legislation has been slow to catch up with the realities of the online world, meaning that while the legality of betting sites varies from state to state, these laws are only applicable to the operators themselves, not the gamblers.
In other words, while casino sites can only operate from certain jurisdictions, there is nothing to prevent US citizens from visiting them from wherever they live. The problem has always been that it sometimes proves awkward to transfer funds to or from the site due to US banks being prohibited from conducting transactions with online casinos.
Virtual currencies like Bitcoin are the most popular way around this obstacle. However, the new trend towards playing real money casino games with CS:GO and PUBG skins provides a compelling new alternative, as well as a way to make some real money out of those virtual assets.