Riot Games will begin to approve betting sponsors for League of Legends and VALORANT teams, but there are a few caveats.
Unlike other organizers like BLAST, Riot Games has always been a staunch denier of gambling and betting sponsors. Before, its presence was not even acknowledged, and some talents were even penalized for being associated with the scene.
However, Riot seems to be shifting gears. They released an article outlining their decision to finally allow betting sponsorships for their top-tier esports leagues in League of Legends and VALORANT. The developer-publisher outlined their rationale and the steps that they are taking to protect viewer interest while keeping the leagues sustainable.
The announcement came straight from the President of Publishing & Esports at Riot Games, John Needham.
Betting sponsorships for League of Legends and VALORANT teams
Firstly, Riot Games made clear that the green light to sign over betting partnerships will only be available for tier one LoL and VCT teams in the Americas and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) regions. Tier two and below teams are still barred from these opportunities (meaning we won't see teams like Los Ratones pick up a betting sponsor anytime soon), but this doesn't mean that they won't reap the rewards, too. More on this below.
Needham acknowledged that fans may have strong opinions about sports betting and that they respect it. "However, the reality is that betting activity already exists around our sports and will continue whether we engage with it or not," said Riot. They also disclosed that LoL Esports and VCT reached a total betting turnover of $10.7 billion last year, according to Sportradar. Instead of letting unregulated markets and bookmakers continue, Riot thought it was better to engage with them in a more official capacity.
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 that partner teams have been requesting to allow sponsorships from betting brands to "generate revenue for their financial health." Of course, Riot intends to have strict guardrails to protect the integrity of the league, from teams to fans.
He said that Riot will put all potential sports betting partners under a microscope before approving them. "It’s important to us to bring the same razor of scrutiny to all betting brands interested in our teams."
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The future of betting on Riot esports
Riot has an ongoing partnership with GRID, an official, real-time esports data provider. They plan to leverage this more and will mandate that all betting partners use GRID for consistency, integrity, and accountability.
Moreover, Riot Games wants to protect the viewer experience. This means that all Riot-owned broadcasts will be betting-free: no ads, no sponsored segments from betting brands, and no betting partner logos on all team jerseys. We know that they are capable of this with their recent partnership with cryptocurrency platform Coinbase — none of the Riot broadcasts feature any Coinbase or crypto-related branding at all.
Orgs will also have to create and follow their own Internal Integrity Program and make sure that betting partners make sense for their brand. Riot left it up to the teams on how their betting content will be delivered, but it has to be within the guidelines of Riot's sponsorship program, terms, and local regulations.
What about Tier 2 teams?
The tier 2 esports scene for both LoL and VALORANT is very much alive. Thus, one of Riot's pillars for their approach toward betting sponsorship is to support the tier 2 esports ecosystem.
Pros playing in this level will see bigger prize pools, more tournaments, general improvements to the integrity system, and expanded training programs.
For more Betting news, stick around esports.gg.
