After years of keeping the gambling industry at arm’s length, Riot Games has finally opened the door, carefully. The publisher behind League of Legends and VALORANT will now allow Tier 1 teams in the Americas and EMEA to sign sponsorship deals with regulated betting partners.
It’s a move that reflects a broader truth: betting is already happening, whether the industry likes it or not.
“Betting activity already exists around our sports and will continue whether we engage with it or not,” said Riot president of esports John Needham. “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.”
According to data he cites from Sportradar, fans wagered $10.7 billion on LoL and VCT events in 2024 alone. Riot points out that around 70 percent of all sports bets are still placed in unregulated markets. That’s not a stat most sports organisations would proudly broadcast, but Riot is using it to justify a new model for esports: one where betting can exist in a framework of integrity, rather than behind a curtain of denial.
It’s a bold step. And yet it echoes a sentiment shared by industry advocate Bill Pascrell III in a recent interview about the push to legalise sports betting in the United States.
“[Banning] didn’t stop betting. It just stopped regulation. And revenue. And reality.”
Riot seems to be applying the same logic to esports.
From resistance to regulation
This shift didn’t happen overnight. Betting has been a taboo category in Riot’s sponsorship rulebook since day one. But Needham said teams have been asking the company to reconsider for years. After internal analysis, the company has now launched what it calls a “well-researched sports betting partnership program” with a framework designed to protect players, fans, and the product itself.
“Our ability to meet these goals means we have to equip teams with the right tools and guidance to effectively navigate the sports betting sponsorship space in a manner that protects the fan and esports event experience.”
All potential betting sponsors must be vetted and approved by Riot Games. There’s no open season for sportsbooks; approval is conditional, and there are expectations on both sides.
A major piece of that infrastructure is GRID, Riot’s official data partner. Any bookmaker who partners with a team must use GRID to power its offering. In Riot’s words:
“Using clean, official data is critical to weakening black markets and stopping shady operators from taking advantage of fans and pros.”
Riot will also require any team entering a betting deal to create an internal integrity programme. This includes policy development, player education, and monitoring protocols. Teams are expected to assess whether a betting sponsor aligns with their own brand and audience, which may deter some organisations with younger fanbases.
A betting blackout on broadcast
While the sponsorship category is now open, Riot Games is drawing a hard line around its owned channels.
“Riot-owned broadcast and social channels will stay betting-free, which means no ads, no sponsored segments from betting partners, and no betting partner logos on team jerseys.”
This approach gives teams flexibility to monetise their own platforms, while keeping the main product, the matches, free from gambling promotions. Riot is essentially giving its partners the green light without turning its broadcasts into bookmaker billboards.
It’s a compromise, and a deliberate one. Riot has always marketed its games as lifestyle brands. Turning the LEC into a Vegas-style sportsbook-fest would likely be off-brand and off-putting to parts of the community.
Still, the financial incentive for teams is clear. Esports organisations have been under pressure to diversify their income streams, and sponsorship categories like energy drinks, keyboards, and crypto only go so far. Gambling is one of the few mature sectors with the budget, and appetite, to back top-tier teams.
A cut for the wider ecosystem
Tier 2 teams aren’t allowed to sign betting sponsors under the current model, but Riot is looking to ensure they still benefit from the shift.
“A portion of Riot’s revenues earned from the sports betting program will be invested back into Tier 2,” Needham said.
This includes support for prize pools, new tournaments, and training for aspiring pros.
It’s a well-thought-out addition and one that gives the announcement a longer-term development angle. By directing a slice of new revenue into the semi-pro scene, Riot is helping to secure its own talent pipeline.
What this means for the industry
Make no mistake, this is a significant shift. Riot is one of the most conservative publishers in the esports space when it comes to monetisation, and its endorsement of betting partnerships (however conditional) sends a message: betting is happening, but let’s do it on our terms.
This isn’t the usual shirt-logo deal. Riot’s framework gives betting sponsors a chance to contribute to an ecosystem that’s mostly developed without much outside support.
“We’ve said before that Riot is all in for the long term on our esports,” Needham wrote, “and that means stepping into arenas like sports betting with an objective to both guide and protect our brands from bad actors.”
By opening the door to betting sponsors, Riot is taking the lead on shaping how this space evolves; better to define it now than defend it later.
