Law firm Hagens Berman, on behalf of a group of consumers, announced the filing of a class-action lawsuit against Valve Corporation.
The lawsuit, filed on March 9, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, accuses Valve of knowingly operating illegal gambling through its “loot box” system. The complaint claims that this feature was carefully designed to extract money from consumers, including children, using deceptive casino-style psychological tactics.
“We believe Valve intentionally designed its gaming platform and earned enormous profits from it,” said Steve Berman, founder and managing partner of Hagens Berman.
Valve distributes loot boxes for free to players in its games Counter-Strike, Dota 2, and Team Fortress 2. To open a case, players must purchase a key from Valve for about $2.50. Players have no control over the reward inside the box.
The loot box opening process on screen in Counter-Strike resembles a virtual slot machine with a spinning wheel showing images of possible prizes.
Lawyers argue that players open loot boxes for the same reason people play slot machines — for the chance to win a valuable prize. According to the lawsuit, Valve’s loot box system is a “deliberate, carefully designed revenue model” that allows the company to earn money first from selling keys and later through a 15% fee charged when users sell their virtual rewards on the Steam Community Market.
Recall that NS RedForce and NRG reached the upper-bracket final of the VALORANT Masters Santiago 2026.