Riot Games Opens Betting Sponsorships
Riot Games announced plans to open betting sponsorship opportunities for Tier 1 League of Legends and VALORANT teams in the Americas and EMEA regions. The move aims to create new revenue streams for partner teams while ensuring the integrity of competitions and the safety of fans.
Betting activity around esports has grown rapidly, with global turnover involving League of Legends Esports and the VALORANT Champions Tour reaching $10.7 billion in 2024, according to Sportradar. However, most bets are placed with unregulated bookmakers, raising concerns over player safety and fair play.
Riot Games stated that engaging with betting sponsors in a controlled and responsible way is better than ignoring the existing market. By creating strict guidelines, the company hopes to direct activity toward regulated operators and strengthen protections for players and fans.
Key measures in the program include
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Rigorous Vetting of Partners
All potential sports betting sponsors must undergo approval from Riot Games before forming any agreements with teams. -
Use of Official Esports Data
Betting partners are required to use data from GRID, Riot’s official data partner, ensuring transparency and helping prevent illegal betting markets from exploiting players and fans.
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Team Integrity Programs
Partner teams must establish their own internal integrity programs to uphold competitive fairness, protect players, and promote responsible betting. These programs will include policy development, monitoring, and educational efforts. -
Support for Tier 2 Esports
A portion of Riot’s revenue from betting sponsorships will be reinvested into Tier 2 esports. This funding will go toward boosting prize pools, launching new tournaments, improving integrity systems, and expanding training for players and tournament organizers.
To protect the viewing experience, Riot Games confirmed that broadcasts and official social media channels will remain free of sports betting ads and sponsored segments. Betting logos will not appear on team jerseys during matches.
Each team will decide how betting-related content appears on their own channels, but they must follow Riot’s guidelines, platform rules, and local laws.
The company emphasized that the decision was made after years of consultation and research, driven by requests from partner teams to open up new sponsorship opportunities.
Riot Games also stated that if changes to the program are needed in the future, adjustments will be made to continue safeguarding the esports community.
