[pfisch]

Mostly what mmt1 said, but also what you are describing is against the tos of steam.

They have done everything within their power to make this not legitimate.

If an operator buys a game that normally gives out tickets and uses it as an illegal gambling device is the game developer responsible for that, or is the operator?

Steam is not responsible for grey market transactions it is actively working to shut down. The grey market is the one operating the casino here.

[mmt]

> what you are describing is against the tos of steam. > They have done everything within their power to make this not legitimate.

There's no evidence they've done everything in their power to eliminate grey market transactions. It's in their power, for example, to remove transferability of items (or maybe just items from loot boxes, though I'm insufficiently familiar with them to know if that could be gamed).

However, it's almost entirely irrelevant, because that's only one piece of a much larger "puzzle".

> If an operator buys a game that normally gives out tickets and uses it as an illegal gambling device is the game developer responsible for that, or is the operator?

This questions seems immaterial, since Steam is both the game developer and the operator.

> The grey market is the one operating the casino here.

Steam is operating every single part of the casino, except the very last little bit of cashing out the chips. They even have a cashier from whom one can buy chips in the first place!

You actually have it backward. It's the grey market that is not responsible for Steam's operation of a casino. It would still exist if items were still transferable, still had real world value to someone, but were no longer available through a Steam-operated lottery system.

[pfisch]

> There's no evidence they've done everything in their power to eliminate grey market transactions. It's in their power, for example, to remove transferability of items (or maybe just items from loot boxes, though I'm insufficiently familiar with them to know if that could be gamed).

Why do they have to remove legitimate features?

> his questions seems immaterial, since Steam is both the game developer and the operator.

Steam is not the operator of the sites converting steam items into money, so it is very relevant.

> Steam is operating every single part of the casino, except the very last little bit of cashing out the chips.

So if you can transfer items in a video game between users it is now a casino? That is ridiculous and covers every MMO and a lot of other online games.