G2 Esports is under fire following its decision to use a player who has just turned 18 to promote its new gambling sponsorship deal with online service CSGORoll.
In a promotional video, AWPer Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov, who turned 18 on the 1st of May, was featured receiving lifetime access to a real-life Counter Strike skin casino. He then meets other notable personalities from the industry and places a wager in the casino.
Skins = wins 📈 pic.twitter.com/aJxwCWuMzI
— G2 CS (@G2CSGO) May 2, 2023
Counter Strike fans were quick to point out that the video was likely filmed before “moNESY” turned 18 and that this would encourage younger players to gamble in the future.
Why are you promoting unregulated (skin) gambling to the underage fanbase?
This is a huge problem in the Counter-Strike/Esports community and the team behind G2 Esports should know much better.
— BitSkins.com (@BitSkinsCom) May 2, 2023
CSGORoll is marketed as a community skin trading platform where Counter-Strike players can buy, sell, and trade weapon skins using the website. However, this is considered by many as a form of unregulated gambling and numerous similar sites have been shut down in the past by EU-based gambling authorities while the US Federal Trade Commission has also shut down sites such as Lotto for similar reasons.
Based in London, Natasha is a former sports journalist with experience working for some of the biggest athletes & brands in the world of sports and iGaming.