Valve bypasses lootbox gambling laws in France with latest CS:GO update

Cover Image Source: Black | Thumbnail Image Source: Steam

The latest CS:GO update brings with it an ‘X-ray Scanner’ for players in France. This feature allows users to preview a skin within any container without actually opening it.

Every user’s ‘X-ray Scanner’ will come pre-loaded with an exclusive non-tradable item, ‘P250 | X-Ray’. This is a single-use item which must be claimed in order to start using the scanner. The feature is region locked and is only available to French users at the moment. 

Once any container is placed within the scanner and the item inside is revealed, the user has to claim the item before being able to use the scanner again on another container.

The system has been made in such a way so as to effectively combat the gambling rules setup in France while also hindering people from abusing it by possibly making new accounts to get free skin reveals, as the first item is a trade banned exclusive skin that the user needs to buy in order to start using the system.

In addition to the introduction of ‘X-ray Scanner’, Valve has also announced that containers in France can no longer be purchased from Steam Community Market, but can still be sold.

It looks as if Valve might have found a way around the gambling laws that have prevented its users in certain countries from opening containers.