The company has laid out its plan for a guardrails-first approach. It justifies this as a way to build a sustainable esports ecosystem.
Riot Games is responsibly opening up sponsorship from betting companies. This applies to tier one League of Legends teams. It also applies to Valorant esports teams in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Since 2023, this comes as part of a larger esports strategy rethink that’s been underway through Riot.
John Needham, Riot’s president of publishing and esports, explained the reasoning in a lengthy blog post. While multi-layered, it is primarily focused on building a sustainable ecosystem for the future of esports. According to Needham, teams have been requesting sports betting as a sponsor category for years.
Moreover, Riot has justified the move by saying it is including guardrails to protect competitive integrity and the fan experience.
According to Sportradar data, the post pointed out that bets on LoL Esports in 2024 totaled billions. Bets on the Valorant Champions Tour also contributed to a combined total of $10.7 billion. Nonetheless, bettors placed 70% of all sports bets in unregulated markets with unlicensed bookmakers.
Needham said they believe it’s better to allow betting sponsorships thoughtfully and carefully, with the right protections. He argued this approach is preferable to sitting on the sidelines while risks to fans and competitive integrity go unchecked.
Esports has always been a financially unpredictable and challenging sector. Especially in the post-COVID years, this makes Riot’s move not enormously surprising.
Nevertheless, the blog post acknowledges that the move will be contentious. Formally, it connects betting to its video games, after all.
Needham wrote that they know sports betting isn’t for everyone. He acknowledged that some fans have strong feelings about it, and said they respect that. However, he pointed out that betting activity already exists around their sports and will continue with or without their involvement.
