Riot Games targets predictable revenue for streams through sports betting sponsorships, though it acknowledges the sector “isn’t for everyone”.
Riot Games has announced Tier 1 League of Legends (LoL) and Valorant teams in the Americas and EMEA will be allowed to explore sponsorship opportunities with betting companies.
The game publisher confirmed its policy shift on June 26 in a blog post, outlining a guardrail-first strategy. Riot will vet all potential betting partners before approval, aiming to ensure a responsible approach to integrating betting into esports.
Esports data company GRID esports must be used by potential partners to power their offerings, with Riot stating this will help ensure consistency, integrity, and accountability.
Additionally, the publisher has established a requirement for teams to create and assess their own Internal Integrity Programme. This programme must ensure competitive integrity, safeguard players and young audiences, and uphold responsible betting practices.
Riot’s approach is also designed to benefit the broader esports ecosystem, with a portion of revenue earned from these sponsorships invested into Tier 2 esports through prize pools, new tournaments, and training and education initiatives.
Concerns remain
The blog, written by John Needham, President of Publishing and Esports at Riot Games, acknowledges concerns from the esports community about the involvement of sports betting.
Riot Games first announced its intention to explore betting sponsorships in December 2024. This was met with mixed reactions. Adam Adamou, CEO of OverActive Media, shared that his organisation, Movistar KOI, did not plan to explore betting partnerships at the time.
Some stakeholders remain cautious six months later.
Marcus Howard, Business Development Strategist at OVR Technology, posted a LinkedIn poll asking, “Will betting sponsorships in esports condition youth gamers to start gambling?” Two days after being posted, the poll had received 152 votes, with 67% of respondents answering yes.
This highlights a major concern Riot Games will have to manage following its decision to enter the betting space, one that persists in traditional sports even after years of betting sponsorships.
One notable rule which signals Riot’s commitment to safeguarding its audience is that Riot-owned broadcast and social channels will remain betting-free. This includes no advertisements, no sponsored segments from betting partners, and no betting partner logos on teams’ kits.
This leaves teams to find perhaps limited, but potentially creative, ways to integrate betting-related content on their own platforms., which could act as inspiration for
Premier League clubs before its ban on front-of-shirt betting sponsors at the start of the 2027/28 season.
Eyeing long-term sustainability
It’s important to note Riot’s policy shift follows calls for change from its partnered teams.
According to Sportradar, total global betting turnover involving just LoL Esports and VCT reached $10.7bn in 2024. However, the Riot notes that “the problem” is that 70% of bets across all sports are placed in unregulated markets with unlicensed bookmakers.
This policy change aims to help teams capture revenue they are currently missing out on while also protecting consumers by ensuring exposure to licensed operators.
“We’ve said before that Riot is all in for the long term on our esports, and that means stepping into arenas like sports betting with an objective to both guide and protect our brands from bad actors by establishing what good looks like, while also providing an avenue for teams to benefit financially,” wrote Needham.
“With any new endeavour, there will be challenges, and if we need to make adjustments, we will. Please know our overall commitment is to do right by our players, teams, and fans as well as the world-class esports experience that we’ve built together and want to see thrive for years to come.”
The change not only offers teams an opportunity to generate more revenue, but also opens the door for traditional betting operators, which have yet to meaningfully enter the esports space.
In an interview with Canadian Gaming Business, esports and betting expert Cody Luongo said, “esports is becoming a natural and permanent extension of the global betting landscape”.
To read the full interview on how esports betting is transitioning from a niche to a necessity, including comments from Moritz Maurer, CEO of GRID esports, click HERE.
