Berlin-based esports organisation G2 Esports has partnered with CS:GO skin gambling and trading site CSGORoll, announcing the partnership via a promotional video that has sparked controversy.

An advert for the partnership, called ‘We’re All In‘, features G2’s newly 18-year old CS:GO star Ilya ‘M0nESY’ Osipov walking round a stylised casino. The video shows graphical depictions of the CSGORoll interface as well as traditional backgammon cards in a casino setting.

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The announcement video for the partnership has drawn criticism in part because Osipov only turned 18 the day before the video was released. The use of the player to promote a skin gambling site raised eyebrows among sceptical community members who believe it was inappropriate to involve a young person, possibly underage at the time of filming, in the production of the ad.

Community backlash has also centred on the fact G2 is partnering with a site that appears to offers unregulated gambling of CS:GO skins. CS:GO has a long history of scandals involving unregulated sites letting underage players gamble using in-game CS:GO skins, which can be traded for real money and hold value.

The length and terms of the partnership, and details of future activations, were not disclosed. G2 Esports is listed as an Official Partner on CSGORoll’s website.

CSGORoll was established in 2016, and has since become one of the largest CS:GO skin sites in the scene. It has managed to dodge the controversy surrounding other sites like CS:GO Shuffle and CS:GO Lotto. The site includes a way to verify its random number generation code to ensure the user is not being defrauded.

For G2 Esports, 2023 continues to see it expand and maintain its position as one of Europe’s prominent esports organisations. In February, the organisation entered a partnership with Philippine-based organisation Blacklist International to create a League of Legends: Wild Rift team known as G2 Blacklist.

The team also unveiled a partnership with DC Comics last week, inspiring a themed jersey to be worn by G2 Esports’ League of Legends team at the upcoming Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) tournament taking place in London from May 2nd until May 21st. The collaboration marked the comic book publisher’s second esports sponsorship after a deal with FaZe Clan in 2021.

‘EyE’, the pseudonym used by the CEO of CSGORoll, commented in a release: “At CSGORoll, our community has always been at the forefront of every decision we make. Having met with G2, I was blown away by their level of creativity, ambition, and passion for their fans.

“With shared values for the wider gaming community, we’re extremely excited to work with the team and expose our community to the incredible events that we have planned!”