Riot Games is “responsibly” opening up sponsorship from betting companies for tier one League of Legends and Valorant esports teams in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
This comes as part of a larger esports strategy rethink that’s been underway by Riot since 2023.
As shared in a lengthy blog post by Riot’s president of publishing & esports, John Needham, the reasoning is multi-layered but primarily about building a “sustainable ecosystem” for the future of esports. Needham said that teams have been requesting sports betting as a sponsor category for years.
In addition, Riot justified the move by saying that it’s including “guardrails” to “protect competitive integrity and the fan experience”.
The post pointed out that, according to Sportradar data, bets made over LoL Esports and the Valorant Champions Tour last year totalled $10.7 billion, but that 70% of bets across all sports were placed in unregulated markets with unlicensed bookmakers.
“We believe it’s better to engage in allowing betting sponsorships – thoughtfully, carefully, and with the right protections – than to sit on the sidelines while risks to fans and integrity go unchecked,” Needham said.
Esports has always been a financially unpredictable and challenging sector, especially in the post-COVID years – meaning the move by Riot is not enormously surprising.
Nonetheless, the blog post acknowledges that the move will be contentious. It formally connects betting to its video games, after all.
“We know sports betting isn’t for everyone, and that some fans have strong feelings about it, and we respect that,” Needham wrote. “However, the reality is that betting activity already exists around our sports and will continue whether we engage with it or not.”
The response on the game’s subreddit has been mostly negative, even if some players saw the decision as inevitable.
Those protective guardrails, then, include guiding and supporting “the development of regulations, monitoring best practices, and educational programs” designed to ensure the “integrity” of everyone involved in these events.
Riot also claimed that the partnership program “strengthens and reinforces the competitive integrity standards” of its esports competitions by heightening the company’s ability “to monitor betting activity for violations of our policies”.
Needham also outlined a process for how it will engage with “sports betting” partners, including a vetting and approval process, making sure partners use its official GRID esports data to operate bets, and team integrity program checks.
Riot will also invest some of its earnings from the program into the second tier of Valorant and League of Legends teams to support their “growth and advancement”. This is the only time in the post that Riot mentions its cut of the program.
Broadcasts and social channels, too, will remain free of betting adverts, and teams won’t be allowed betting partners on their jerseys.
“We believe that showing up in this space – responsibly – is better than letting others define it for us,” Needham said.