G2 Esports is receiving backlash from the CS:GO community since it revealed it was entering a partnership with gambling service CSGORoll on May 2. In the announcement teaser, AWPer Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov, who turned 18 on May 1, was shown as the poster boy.
In the video, the player is granted access to a real-life Counter-Strike skin casino and meets other personalities from the organization, before making a wager. The video itself is high-quality, but what fans took away from it was the fact that m0NESY just reached the legal age to gamble and questioned G2’s ethics.
“Using such a young person in Ilya, to promote this type of gambling, is such a HUGE L,” commented CS expert ZukwiZ. “I’m fucking disgusted.” He explained the deal also made him unsure of the current economic state of the industry: “This deal also tells us that there is far less money in the pro CS scene. Now more than ever the pro teams have to understand how to cut expenses and slimline their org while still delivering engaging content.” This sentiment was shared by many fans over social media.
CSGORoll is a community skin trading platform. Counter-Strike fans can buy, sell, and trade weapon skins using the website. Similarly to most other CS skins gambling websites, it’s unregulated, which raised concerns in the community. It’s now sponsoring G2’s CS team, although it’s still unclear what this partnership will entail exactly.
Gambling in esports has been stirring frequent controversies for years. Numerous CS:GO skin trading websites were shut down around the time CSGORoll was founded, in 2016, such as Lotto by the US’ Federal Trade Commission.
The choice made by G2 Esports of promoting this service was bound to be controversial, but promoting it with a player as young as m0NESY caused more outrage from the community than it seems the team anticipated. Some claimed the organization is irresponsibly promoting gambling to underaged users through this announcement.
“Gamble responsibly,” commented m0NESY’s teammate NiKo. “The whole thing would of likely been recorded [prior] to monesy turning 18,” wrote another user. Countless reactions reading along those lines can be found all over G2’s social pages.
Others have defended the organization, praising the video announcement for its quality and arguing the team will be elevated from the sponsorship’s financial gain.
“Adding skins in-game is a fun, interactive and cosmetic way to express yourself,” stated G2 CEO Alban Dechelotte in the official release on May 2. “We are very excited to partner with CS:GO Roll enabling G2 fans to get a chance to earn the rare skin they always dreamed of.”
