Valve issues gambling warning to Counter Strike players

“A high standard of professional integrity” – that’s what Valve is demanding of professional Counter Strike players.

The warning comes following a number of high profile betting controversies surrounding the game, including last month’s damaging match fixing claims.

“Professional players, teams, and anyone involved in the production of CS:GO events, should under no circumstances gamble on CS:GO matches, associate with high volume CS:GO gamblers, or deliver information to others that might influence their CS:GO bets,” the company said.

“To clarify – as a professional player, team manager or event production staff, it is common to have personal relationships and/or privileged information about other teams and players. Because of this, we will always assume that you have access to private CS:GO-related ‘inside information’ that might give you an unfair advantage when placing a bet on any CS:GO game or match.

“Betting using inside information, or even the perception or suspicion thereof, carries a significant risk of damaging your personal brand, your team, your community, and may lead to exclusion from future Valve-sponsored events.

“To avoid these risks, we recommend that you never bet on any CS:GO game or match. This recommendation applies both to current professional players and anyone who wishes to participate in a Valve-sponsored CS:GO event in the future.

“It’s important to consider the substantial impact an individual professional Counter-Strike player has on the health and stability of the sport. Performing before an audience of millions of fans, you are ambassadors for your game – the strength of professional Counter-Strike comes from the integrity of its players and teams.”

The news comes after Valve actually banned 19 Counter Strike professionals, although five of these bans were subsequently overturned, GameSpot reports.