Riot Games recently announced plans to open sports betting brand sponsorships for top-tier teams in the Americas and EMEA regions for "League of Legends" and "Valorant," aiming to explore sustainable paths for the commercialization of esports. At the same time, Riot has explicitly stipulated that no betting brands will be displayed in any event broadcasts, promotional content, or team uniforms. The company will establish "benign participation" standards and review all partnerships to ensure compliance and ecosystem health.
Riot has consistently been committed to promoting the long-term sustainable development of the esports ecosystem. As early as 2023, the company proposed a vision for sustainable esports and implemented a series of partnership model reforms to provide teams with more stable sources of income. Sports betting has long been a potential cooperation area of interest for teams. Following multiple calls, Riot has decided to cautiously open this category of sponsorship, believing it will create new revenue channels for teams while also reducing the risks of illegal betting.
According to Sportradar data, the total global betting volume around "League of Legends" and "Valorant" reached $10.7 billion in 2024, with about 70% coming from the unregulated illegal market. Riot believes that instead of allowing illegal betting to erode the fairness of events, it is better to establish regulated channels to prevent risks.
In the advancement process, Riot emphasizes the priority of protection and regulation. All betting brands must undergo strict scrutiny by Riot and must use official data from their partner GRID to prevent data misuse. Teams wishing to cooperate with betting must also establish internal integrity management mechanisms to ensure the maintenance of competitive fairness, protection of players and minors, and practice responsible betting.
Although this policy is limited to top-tier teams in the Americas and EMEA regions, Riot will allocate part of the partnership proceeds to support the secondary event system, to enhance prizes, establish new events, strengthen integrity safeguards, and expand educational resources, thereby promoting the development of the entire esports ecosystem.
Riot also emphasizes that all official event broadcasts, social platforms, and team uniforms will not contain any betting elements, and advertising and presentation forms are entirely managed by the teams according to Riot policies, platform regulations, and local laws.
Riot states that it will continue to lead industry standards in a responsible manner, expand business opportunities under legal and compliant conditions, enhance the financial resilience of teams, and maintain fan experience and esports brand integrity. The company commits to prioritizing players, teams, and audiences to promote the continuous healthy development of global esports events.
