ESL FACEIT Group bans CS2 skin trading and gambling sponsors

Tournament organizer ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) has updated its sponsor rules to prohibit teams from advertising skin trading, case-opening, and skin gambling platforms during its competitions. The new policy, announced earlier this week, comes roughly seven months after Valve implemented a similar restriction aimed at the same kind of sponsors. EFG’s move effectively closes a loophole that allowed some organizations to keep those partnerships alive despite the developer’s earlier ban.

According to the updated regulations, any sponsor that interacts with a player’s in-game inventory through Valve’s systems is now forbidden. Teams whose official branding includes logos or names of such sponsors must supply an alternative version that complies with the new rules for use during broadcasts. The wording targets the same companies that Valve barred from appearing on jerseys and stream content in December 2025, but EFG’s language adds enforcement teeth that Valve’s original policy lacked.

How teams are navigating the dual bans

Even after Valve’s December prohibition, several top Counter-Strike teams continued to feature skin-related sponsors on their websites and social media, simply covering them up during live events. Team Vitality, for example, still lists Skin.Club and Skin.Land among its partners, while MongolZ promotes CSGO Skins and Mouz carries G4Skins. During EFG tournaments, these organizations are required to hide those brands from their merchandise and any on-screen content, instead displaying their primary gambling sponsors—Stake for Vitality, 1xBet for MongolZ, and Fonbet for Mouz. All three of those gambling companies operate under offshore licenses and are officially restricted in the United States, most of Europe, and large parts of Asia.

Why the split sponsorship model exists

The dual sponsorship approach reflects the financial reality of many esports organizations. Skin-related sites typically pay smaller fees than major gambling operators, but they offer a different kind of exposure tied directly to the game’s economy. With Valve and now EFG both cracking down, teams are forced to choose between keeping those smaller deals off-screen or dropping them entirely. The three teams mentioned above have opted to keep the skin sponsors as secondary partners, using them for non-broadcast content while relying on their offshore gambling backers for the main revenue that appears on stage.

• EFG’s ban applies to all CS2 competitions under its umbrella, including IEM Katowice, ESL Pro League, and the Intel Extreme Masters circuit.
• Valve’s December 2025 policy prohibited skin-related sponsors from jerseys and broadcast content but did not specify enforcement measures for violations.
• Team Vitality maintains partnerships with Skin.Club and Skin.Land, displaying Stake as its primary gambling sponsor during live events.
• MongolZ and Mouz similarly keep CSGO Skins and G4Skins as secondary sponsors, while promoting 1xBet and Fonbet on broadcast.

Regulatory heat and the broader sponsorship landscape

The crackdown comes at a time when gambling-related sponsorships in esports face increasing legal pressure. Valve is currently defending itself in a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who argues the company has not done enough to prevent third-party skin trading platforms from operating illegally. Valve contends that its terms of service clearly prohibit these sites from using its API for gambling, but critics point to the Steam transaction fees as an indirect profit stream. Meanwhile, in Brazil, Valve and several other game publishers were ordered to pay millions in fines after a court ruled that loot boxes constitute illegal gambling directed at minors. The combination of these legal battles and the updated tournament rules signals a shift away from the gray-market skin ecosystem that has long been intertwined with Counter-Strike’s professional scene.

The United Kingdom is also moving to restrict unlicensed gambling sponsorships in sports, particularly football, though no similar legislation has been proposed for esports yet. Valve’s decision to distance itself from skin gambling appears to be a proactive measure to avoid further regulatory action. However, the financial dependency of many teams on offshore gambling revenue remains unchanged, and no obvious replacement has emerged to fill the gap. EFG’s ban takes effect at the start of the 2026 season, meaning organizations have a few months to adjust their sponsorship portfolios or risk being unable to compete with their current branding.