CS:GO and The Practice of Skin Gambling

The popularity of esports, together with its gambling element, made Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) one of the most popular virtual game today. In fact, the CS:GO Major is the biggest esports events in the world where you can make CS:GO predictions, and the next tournament amounting to a 1$ million prize pool will be held in London, UK. 

With its record-breaking tournaments and millions of fans worldwide, the regular gambling turned into Skin gambling—a  new way of betting where players exchange virtual goods for CS:GO high bets. The virtual goods are in forms of “Skins” or “Finishes”, the weapons that can be equipped in-game. This history of this idea initially started within the community of players in CS:GO, but other gaming communities also practice it.

SKINS

In August 2013, the introduction of Arms Deal update in CS:GO featured the Skins. These are external textures or designs for an item or a character that has no gameplay function. Basically, they are a purely cosmetic item that has no function except to ornament CS:GO characters and weapons. The update contains over 100 Skins with different themes in three general varieties: Normal, StarTrek, and Souvenir. 

All types of Skins are Normal, the basic ones with no special attributes. But StarTrak and Souvenir come in different types and designs more stunning than the basics. StarTrak weapons are hidden in a Weapon Case, and can be used for gun skins and knife skins; the guns have an Orange LED display attached to them to record the number of “confirmed kills” made by the owners. The Souvenir, on the other hand, are weapons from Souvenir packages given away during Valve-sponsored CS:GO matches to players and viewers. 

SKINS AS A GAME CURRENCY

You need Skins of high quality if you want to wager it for CS:GO high bets and use them for your CS:GO skin gambling predictions. Further, there are a number of ways on how to get one if you want to trade it or just use it as an ornament for your weapons. The easiest way is to earn them as rewards wrapped in weapon cases by playing in online communities and official servers—these can be given freely by community servers in loot drops. You can also trade skins from other players or trading platforms online that allows bettors to make CS:GO predictions, the best example is the Steam Market. Some players advise others to trade a number of skins in exchange for one item with higher rarity under a Trade Up Contract. 

Keep in mind that the ones with the highest value and degree of rarity come with a high price. And the ranking goes like this:

1. White (Common) - consumer grade, base grade 

2. Light Blue (Uncommon) - industrial grade

3. Darker Blue (Rare) - Mil-spek, high grade

4. Purple (Mythical) - restricted, remarkable

5. Pinkish Purple (Legendary) - classified, exotic

6. Red (Ancient) - covert, extraordinary

7. Gold (Exceedingly Rare) - melee weapons

8. Yellow Orange (Immortal) - contraband (*discontinued)