In a massive clampdown on online gambling, YouTube said it will crack down more aggressively on content that promotes gambling using video game skins and other virtual items, a development that has the potential to destroy the lucrative business model of Counter-Strike 2 creators.
The new regulations, which come into play on November 17, 2025, broaden YouTube’s current gambling restrictions to encompass any content that sends viewers to platforms where digital items of real-world value, e.g., CS2 gun skins, cosmetics, and NFTs, can be bet. Creators will no longer be allowed to display logos, reference sites in terms, or link to these sites unless they’re authorized by Google Ads and meet local gambling laws.
The timing couldn’t be worse for the Counter-Strike fan base. The news comes just days after Valve’s unpopular trade-up update ravaged the CS2 skin market, deleting nearly $2 billion in value as overall market capitalization dropped from around $6 billion to $4.2 billion. That market upheaval now meets with a regulatory squeeze that might cut off a main source of revenue for CS2 YouTubers.
Skin gambling has become entrenched within the Counter-Strike environment, with unregulated platforms continuing to represent more than $300 million per year of CS2 betting, based on Esports Integrity Commission reports. Based on a 2024 review by the UK government, 40% of the leading 300 Twitch Counter-Strike streamers had sponsorships from one or more skin gambling sites, and ad revenue generated by betting-based content creators was estimated at $42 million on YouTube and Twitch in 2024 alone.
Numerous CS2 YouTubers have created whole channels centered around case openings, skin trading, and gambling website promotions content, which can now fall under YouTube’s new definition of gambling with digital assets. The platform will also age-restrict casino-type content even where no actual money is at stake, further cutting off audience exposure.
Content uploaded before November 17 will not be subject to strikes but will potentially still be age-restricted or taken down. YouTube is urging creators to blur or trim affected content using the platform’s trim tools ahead of the enforcement starting. Yet, for creators whose livelihoods rely significantly on gambling sponsorship and skin content, the policy change poses an existential threat to their model at a time when the underlying CS2 skin economy is already free-falling.
