What makes a CS2 gambling site get blacklisted?

We blacklist sites that: fail to process legitimate withdrawals within 7 days without explanation, manipulate provably-fair outcomes (confirmed via reproducible seed tests), misrepresent odds or bonus terms, have no verifiable ownership or operate without any gaming license, or have received multiple unresolved scam reports from verified players.

Can a blacklisted site be removed from the list?

Yes. Each blacklist entry includes a documented reason and a removal path. Sites can be removed if they resolve the listed issues, provide evidence of a licensing change, process the outstanding withdrawal reports, or demonstrate a verifiable change in ownership and operating policies.

Is CSGOLotto blacklisted?

CSGOLotto is among the sites we will not promote. It was the subject of a Federal Trade Commission action in 2017 after YouTube influencers failed to disclose ownership stakes while promoting it. It has not been relaunched under verifiable clean ownership.

Sites We Won't Take Affiliate Money From, SkinsVault

Sites we won't take affiliate money from.

Every CS2 review site on Google ranks by who pays the most. That's the business model. The most credible thing we can do is publish what we say no to, with the documented reasons, and the path back off this list.

Last reviewed 2026-04-22. Entries are based on publicly documented facts (regulator actions, the site's own ToS, public shutdown notices). We don't accuse, we cite.

Named operators (1)

Specific sites we will not take money from, each with the public record behind it.

CSGOLotto

settledAdded 2026-04-22

Promoted by influencers who failed to disclose ownership of the site. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission settled a deception case in 2017. We don't link to the operators or their successor properties.

Documented facts

FTC settled an enforcement action against the site's principals in September 2017 over undisclosed ownership and influencer-marketing deception.
The terms of the settlement required clear disclosure of material connections in any subsequent endorsement.
Site has changed hands and rebranded multiple times since; we treat any successor that does not publicly disclose ownership the same way.

Sources

FTC press release: CSGOLotto settlement (Sept 2017)

Standing exclusions (4)

Not operators. These are the rules we apply before a site is listed at all, so a site failing one of them never reaches a review page.

Sites that don't publish a server-seed commitment

Policy since 2026-04-22

Any site advertising 'provably fair' rolls without publishing the SHA-256 hash of the server seed before the round. Without a pre-round commitment, the site can swap seeds after the round and the verification is meaningless.

Why this rule exists

The whole point of a provably-fair commitment is the SHA-256 of the server seed published BEFORE the round; the seed itself revealed AFTER.
If a site only shows seeds after the fact with no pre-commitment, gamblers cannot prove the seed wasn't substituted post-roll.
We check this on every site we list; if a site removes this commitment, we move them here and update their review.

Sources

Sites with 'suspicious activity' fund-seizure ToS clauses

Policy since 2026-04-22

Any site whose Terms of Service allow account closure and confiscation of player balances at the operator's sole discretion under a vague 'suspicious activity' clause, with no published appeal process.

Why this rule exists

Several CS2 operators include language permitting unilateral seizure of balances without an appeal mechanism.
We will not promote sites whose ToS gives the operator final say on whether to honour a withdrawal, that's not gambling, that's sending money to a counterparty with no contractual obligation to return it.
Sites with documented appeals processes (independent dispute resolution, time-limited reviews, published reason codes) stay on our list.

Domain-squatter clones of legit operators

Policy since 2026-04-22

Lookalike sites using near-identical domain names to legitimate operators (extra letter, hyphen, .net vs .com substitution). We won't drive traffic to anything we can't verify owns its claimed brand.

Why this rule exists

Skin-gambling has a long-running phishing problem where lookalike domains farm Steam credentials.
We confirm domain registration history, SSL certificate ownership, and operator self-disclosure before linking out.
Sites failing this check are not listed as a 'review' on the site at all; we do not link to them.

Sites operating in jurisdictions where their target market is illegal

Policy since 2026-04-22

Operators that knowingly accept users from jurisdictions where CS2 skin gambling is explicitly prohibited (e.g. Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Australia). We don't publish referral links into a regulatory grey zone.

Why this rule exists

Several jurisdictions have explicit rulings that CS2 skin gambling constitutes illegal gambling under their domestic law.
Operators that geo-block compliantly stay on our list. Operators that detect-and-allow stay off.
Our country-by-country legal guide explains which jurisdictions are affected.

Sources