The Counter-Strike skin economy is a massive 5 billion dollar industry. Since CS2 skins are tradable outside of steam, there are many external websites that facilitate the trading and wagering of CS2 skins. Because the industry is still young and very much unregulated, there are a few things to consider when choosing a CS2 skin trading or gambling site.
Deposit and withdrawal options
Whether you’re looking to withdraw a skin you bought with real money or you want to deposit a skin to cash out the proceeds to your bank account, CS2 skin platforms should offer fast deposits and a wide range of withdrawal options. Many CS2 gambling sites for example have pivoted from only allowing CS skin withdrawals to also accepting cryptocurrencies. For CS2 skin marketplaces, having numerous withdrawal options becomes even more integral since many users want to sell their skins for cash to their bank accounts. Players should always consider using the platforms that offer a good amount of withdrawal options.
Legal entities and information
Does your CS skin platform provide legal information as well as an imprint or “about us” page with a company address? This is very important when considering what site you trust with your Counter-Strike skins. Every reliable CS2 skin platform has their company address and legal entity mentioned in their websites footer. On top of that, CS2 gambling sites should have a gambling license from a legal authority such as the Curacao Gaming Authority or the Malta Gaming Authority. There are a few exceptions of trustworthy sites that operate without a gambling license because game modes such as case opening are not considered gambling. CSGOHowl operates a list with the best and most trustworthy sites to consider.
Provably fair
Most CS2 skin wagering sites offer a mechanism called “provably fair”, which basically allows players to manually check the outcome of a wager. Provably fair is an algorithm to prove that all results of randomness-seed-generation are equally arbitrary. Players get a hash so they can manually check their results. Many CS2 gambling but also CS2 case opening sites have implemented this feature. In that sense, some external Counter-Strike case opening sites show more transparency than the in-game Counter-Strike case opening mode.
