As these sites operate via Steam, critics focused their attention on Valve for facilitating these casino sites and profiting from it because they collect a 15 percent fee every time an in-game CS:GO item is sold via Steam. Furthermore, there were worries that unlike live casino places, some CS:GO casino sites do not have age checks in place, raising concerns that they may attract underage gamblers.
Valve cracked down on the CS:GO gambling sites and send dozens of violation notices, forcing the sites to shut down or face the deletion of their Steam accounts. Now the latest development in the story is that some sites like CSGO Lounge are trying to pursue a gambling license to legally operate and be able to accept eSports bets as if it would be real money. Such a license would perhaps also enable some of these sites to offer more extensive services like live dealer roulette, in supplement to placing bets on gaming matches.
It's certainly interesting how the CS:GO gambling sites are dealing with the controversy. Despite the crackdown, there's still a huge userbase for these sites so the decision to go big and try to become official isn't a surprise. While this will not change much if Valve wants to prevent the sites from operating to Steam, the increased regulatory focus will definitely help to prevent minors from using these websites.