s a role to play in eradicating bad actors.s a role to play in eradicating bad actors. | Forum

TORONTO -- Former Toronto FC captain Darren ODea has no beef with the MLS side as he begins the next chapter of his soccer career with Ukraines Metallurg Donetsk. Roger Martinez Jersey . ODea left Toronto prior to Saturdays game in Kansas City, with manager Ryan Nelsen saying the team could not renew his salary, which was listed at US$456,250 but was actually higher since allocation money was used down to pay down the salary cap cost. That made him the highest-paid player in the league, outside of designated players whose salary cap hits are just $368,750. ODea has not spoken publicly of his departure other than to tweet that he was discussing terms with another team. "Not what I want! Not got a choice! Ill update you when things are clearer!" But his agent, blaming the constraints of Twitter, says the 26-year-old Irish international is not leaving with bad feelings. "He loved Toronto. He thought Toronto was a great place. He thought the fans were fantastic and he really liked it there," Kevin Moran said Thursday from Donetsk. "But he totally understood the club situation and he totally understood where Ryan Nelsen was coming from when they talked about not being able to renew the contract at the same terms and he would have had to take a big, big cut." Toronto FC, which had earlier said ODeas deal to join a team in Ukraine was pending a medical, had no immediate comment. Moran confirmed Thursday that ODea has signed a three-year deal with the Ukraine club, which is a local rival of the better-known FC Shakhtar Donetsk ODeas agent praised Toronto for being up front with the defender well ahead of January when his contract was to expire. The team told ODea then it would not stand in his way if he found another home, Moran added. ODea may not be finished with MLS, with thoughts of perhaps finishing out his playing career in North America and then going into coaching, the agent said. "He would love no better place to go back to than Toronto, if that was feasible," Moran said. "But thats an awful long way away. Thats how much he loves Toronto." In a perfect world, ODea would have loved to stay in Toronto -- "on the money he was on," said Moran. "That was not feasible. And the club had said that to him. And he could understand that. He has absolutely no grievance against the club at all in their decision-making or whatever. He totally understands where theyre coming from, he totally understands the system within the MLS and how it works." ODea got on well with Nelsen and the club, according to Moran. The agent refused to say what Torontos offer was to keep ODea, however, or how his deal in Ukraine compared to his MLS contract. ODea is expected to make his debut Saturday against Karpaty FC. Asked if his client was happy about the move, Moran laughed and said: "Yes, he wouldnt sign if he wasnt." "The set-up here is fantastic, I must admit. Its a club on the rise. The training facilities are as good as Ive seen, almost like in the (English) Premier League." Moran said the Ukraine team was just one of several after ODea. Carlos Valderrama Colombia Jersey . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. Stefan Medina Jersey . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. http:///...ata-colombia-jersey/ . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. The past few months have seen a meaningful surge in coverage surrounding the betting side of the esports industry, and it hasnt been pretty. Back in April, Bloomberg published a significant investigative piece detailing the scope of the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive skin betting marketplace and many of the issues stemming from that industry. This article, coupled with a public scandal involving the skin betting site CSGO Diamonds, helped spur a class action suit against Valve. Then two weeks ago, a video from prominent YouTuber h3h3Productions helped shed light on a wide array of issues, including potential fraud, related to the prominent betting site CSGO Lotto.Valve had remained silent throughout this mounting controversy, but its silence ended yesterday. Valve issued a statement entitled In Game Item Trading Update that could mark the demise of skin betting as we know it. While Valves stance seems relatively black and white, the language used in the statement leaves open as many questions as it answers. I will parse through that language to offer more insight into Valves decision and what it means for the future of betting surrounding Valve titles, including Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.Analyzing Valves statementIn 2011, we added a feature to Steam that enabled users to trade in-game items as a way to make it easier for people to get the items they wanted in games featuring in-game economies.Since then a number of gambling sites started leveraging the Steam trading system, and theres been some false assumptions about our involvement with these sites. Wed like to clarify that we have no business relationships with any of these sites. We have never received any revenue from them. And Steam does not have a system for turning in-game items into real world currency.As far as I know, this is completely true. It could be argued that Valve has supported gambling sites to a certain extent by allowing users to log in via Steam, and Valve games have certainly become more popular as a result of these sites. But that is not the same thing as receiving revenue from their operations. Perhaps more information will come to light over time to support the allegations leveled against Valve in the class action lawsuit filed in Connecticut, but I havent seen any credible evidence that contradicts Valves assertion in its public statement.These sites have basically pieced together their operations in a two-part fashion. First, they are using the OpenID API as a way for users to prove ownership of their Steam accounts and items. Any other information they obtain about a users Steam account is either manually disclosed by the user or obtained from the users Steam Community profile (when the user has chosen to make their profile public). Second, they create automated Steam accounts that make the same web calls as individual Steam users.Using the OpenID API and making the same web calls as Steam users to run a gambling business is not allowed by our API nor our user agreements.This is the crux of Valves position, and judging from the public reaction thus far, it has been largely misunderstood. It does not appear that Valve is banning third-party sites from using Steam accounts to facilitate skin betting. At least, not yet. If you run a search in the Steam Web API Terms of Use and Steam Subscriber Agreement, the word gambling is nowhere to be found. In fact, the API Terms of Use havent been updated since July 2010, before the trading marketplace was even implemented and long before skins were introduced to CS:GO in 2013 through the Arms Deal update.Instead, Valves issue seems to be with the fact that gambling sites create automated Steam accounts that make the same web calls as individual Steam users. This naturally begs two questions: Does this affect sites that use automated Steam accounts to make API calls for purposes other than gambling? Can gambling sites continue to use the API so long as they dont make automated calls?The dominant skin marketplace website, OPSkins, released a statement yesterday that it doesnt believe it is impacted by Valves statement because it is not a gambling site. While it is certainly true that OPSkins users cannot gamble on the site, it does not appear to address the fact that OPSkins makes precisely the same type of automated API calls as betting sites in order to facilitate the large volume of transactions.Meanwhile, gambling sites such as Bets.gg have stated that they will continue to operate, and intend to implement changes to comply with the ToS update from Valve. While its nnot entirely clear how Bets. Daniel Torres Colombia Jersey. gg or other gambling sites could alter their behavior in order to comply with the API and other Valve user agreements, the fact is that Valves current position leaves room for them to do so.Thus, Valves statement creates a level of uncertainty that will have to be addressed. At present, its far from clear which sites will and will not be allowed to access the API moving forward.We are going to start sending notices to these sites requesting they cease operations through Steam, and further pursue the matter as necessary. Users should probably consider this information as they manage their in-game item inventory and trade activity.This is where the rubber meets the road. At the end of the day, the real impact will come from Valves enforcement, not from the statement itself. Will Valve enforce the API restrictions against all third parties, or just gambling sites? Will Valve actively monitor the situation and eliminate new sites as they arise, or will it take a more passive approach?Perhaps the biggest uncertainty surrounds whether Valve will go after all forms of gambling (including betting on the outcome of esports matches), or if Valve is targeting traditional gambling activities such as coin flips, lotteries and similar games. In its statement, Valve consistently uses the word gambling, as opposed to betting. This could be an attempt to draw a distinction between certain types of wagering activities, or it could have no significance at all.Only time will tell how all of this plays out. But from where Im sitting, there simply isnt enough information in Valves short statement for anyone to do more than speculate.Impact on the esports landscapeDespite the uncertainty surrounding yesterdays statement, its great to see Valve taking action in this area. We are rapidly approaching a critical mass of negative publicity that could have a significant impact on the longevity of the second-most popular esport in the world, as well as the interests of every party involved in that competitive ecosystem. If unregulated skin betting is allowed to continue unchecked, broader backlash and the advent of regulation from parties who do not understand our industry is inevitable.I sincerely hope that Valves statement marks the beginning of the end for unregulated, unlicensed betting sites that prey on underage users and offer no safeguards against fraud, threats to competitive integrity and much more. That being said, Im not sure today is that day.The fact that Valves statement relies on API misuse is particularly telling. So long as sites can find a way to comply with the terms of use, they may be allowed to continue operating.There is also the potential that Valves stance could be overboard, eliminating all skin-based betting, not simply the sites that operate illegally.It is often overlooked that skins offer a unique type of betting unit that could change the face of gambling as we know it. While many people buy, sell and gamble skins purely as a form of currency, skins are designed to be used, not merely held. In stark contrast to pure cash, a skin may become less valuable to a user over time while maintaining its value to another user who doesnt own that particular skin. As such, it offers the rare opportunity for gambling with reduced negative consequences for the loser. It is a fundamentally different type of gambling transaction, one that could represent a watershed opportunity for the gambling industry.I dont think it is good for anyone to simply eliminate the potential to bet using skins, and I hope Valve isnt going down this path.The problem isnt betting. The problem is unlicensed, unregulated betting. So long as it is done responsibly, betting can drive engagement and additional revenue streams, with manageable negative impacts. There is ample empirical and anecdotal evidence that shows gambling can be good for esports viewership. But that doesnt mean we should stand by and allow the fraud, false advertising and other illegal behavior that has surfaced over the past few months to go unchecked.Im glad to see Valve acknowledge that it has a role to play in eradicating bad actors. As it moves forward and enforces its position, I hope that Valve will strike the right balance between eliminating problematic behavior while permitting gambling in a legal, regulated and responsible manner.Disclosure: Bryce Blum is the General Counsel at Unikrn. ' ' '