Dota 2 Lounge is a community-operated skins betting and trading site for Dota 2, which primarily employs Steam bots in order to automate the betting process somewhat. When betting items on Dota 2 Lounge, users temporarily hand their skins over to bots through the Steam client, which hold the items until the match is completed. Should the bet win, the items are returned and the winnings given the same way. Should the bet lose, the bot keeps the items permanently.
As you would imagine, Dota 2 Lounge users experience problems from time to time when betting on the site. Bots can occasionally bug out, the site itself could go down, or even Steam itself could get in the way of a smooth betting experience. Here are a few such issues that you might encounter when wagering your hard-earned hats on Dota 2 Lounge.
Steam Mobile Authenticator issues
Steam’s new trading rules require the use of a mobile authenticator in order to conduct trades that go through instantly. Otherwise, trades are subject to a 7-day delay — which effectively prevents betting on Dota 2 Lounge. To get past this issue, attach the Steam mobile authenticator to your Steam account, download the app onto your smartphone, then wait 7 days. This initial wait will only apply once, right after you attach the authenticator to your account. Once that’s done, you will be free to trade with Dota 2 Lounge’s bots. This has the bonus effect of carrying over to Steam trades in general, so there’s more than just one reason to attach an authenticator.
Steam trading URL expired
In some cases, your assigned trading URL refuses to work entirely, which also affects the ability to bet on Dota 2 Lounge. This will manifest itself in the form of the trade window closing before you are able to finalize the bet with the bot assigned to you, thus effectively preventing any betting whatsoever. To remedy this problem, go to your Dota 2 Lounge profile, remove your URL from the field, then copy it back. Click the “Change” button to complete the process.
Bots are offline
Dota 2 Lounge’s bots are sometimes found out of service entirely. This can happen when Steam’s trading system itself is disabled by Valve, for whatever reason. Usually the solution to this is to simply wait for Valve to turn the trading system back on, although sometimes the problem is on Dota 2 Lounge’s end. In such a case, it’s best to check the site’s official Facebook page for any updates on the situation. They post almost every day so if there are any problems with the bots there is a high chance that they’ll be updating users on what’s going on.
Items are not returned upon winning a bet
This is perhaps the worst issue that can arise from betting on Dota 2 Lounge. Errors that cause items to not be returned to their owners after winning bets or items simply not showing up under the “My Bets” section on the website do happen, and when they do then it’s a case of missing items. The Dota 2 Lounge admins suggest opening a ticket through the missing items reporting function on their site when this happens, after which they will comb inventory histories and betting records in order to recover your items. The problem here is that all of this will be done manually, which could lead to further issues due to human error. Furthermore, any attachments on lost items such as gems and inscriptions will not be returned, as Dota 2 Lounge states that such things will not be their responsibility. Still, it’s better than leaving your items out in the wild.
These are only some of the common problems that users may encounter betting on Dota 2 Lounge, as it is regulated entirely by members of the Dota 2 community and not a reputable gambling company like those that run our favourite online betting websites. Dota 2 Lounge is not affiliated with Valve in any shape or form, so technically speaking they are not obligated to assist you with these issues. There is also no guarantee that your items will be safe after having bots hold them for a period of time, which can sting even more if you lose items that you purchased with actual cash.
Thus, we recommend playing on real money online betting sites as opposed to unregulated and unlicensed skins betting sites. Licensed online betting sites are far safer to play on and will help you out whenever you run into issues. Not to mention that winning real money betting on Dota 2 games is far more rewarding than winning some skins that you still have to sell off afterwards to get any monetary value out of them. Of course, we understand that in some territories skins betting may be the only legal choice, but for those living in places where online gambling isn’t illegal, we will always put legal bookmakers over community-run sites.
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