If you’ve ever wondered where esports teams get their money, the answer has historically been: partly from places that would make compliance officers sweat. ESL FACEIT Group just made that equation a lot simpler by banning skin gambling, case-opening, and skin trading platforms from sponsoring teams at any EFG-run Counter-Strike 2 event.
The policy update, enforced in early July 2026, brings EFG’s own rulebook into alignment with licensing restrictions Valve implemented around December 2025. Any company that interacts with a player’s Valve game inventory is now explicitly banned from appearing as a sponsor, covering logos, revenue deals, and partnership arrangements across EFG tournaments.
What exactly got banned, and why it matters
EFG’s previous sponsorship guidelines already restricted categories like drugs, adult content, and other material likely to bring the tournament organizer into disrepute. The new clause specifically targets any company that interacts with a player’s Valve game inventory. If your business model depends on Steam’s item ecosystem, you can’t put your logo on a jersey at an EFG event.
Traditional cash-based gambling operators, however, remain unaffected. Because those companies don’t touch Steam’s inventory systems, they fall outside the scope of Valve’s restrictions.
