Summary
- Riot Games is waking up to the fact that there’s now a hot esports betting market.
- In the not too distant future, in their major esports leagues and events, Riot will allow betting sponsors.
- Riot is planning ahead into the betting market with what could be massive size when it comes to betting around their games.
Riot Games, the publisher of titles like League of Legends and VALORANT, has approved betting sponsorships. For years, fans of esports have seen betting companies skirting around the esports scene but not truly getting into it. There have been offers of sponsorships, but Riot’s announcement offers them a welcome and authorized entry into the esports world. This is a big deal for all teams looking at new revenue streams, but it is a pretty significant change for the esports ecosystem overall. Let’s take a closer look at what this means
How Riot’s Past Betting Rules Evolved
The increase of esports betting is one of the most current shifts that the gambling landscape has ever seen on a global scale. In the past few years, esports betting has gone from being a niche hobby to a mainstream billion-dollar industry. Expected revenues were $2.5 billion in 2024 and jumped again in 2025 to an expected revenue of $2.8 billion. This accelerated growth comes from an escalating user base that has increased to more than three times the size in only seven years (now 74 million+ total bettors globally).
Riot used to avoid dealing with gambling partnerships, trying to keep their competitive integrity intact and keeping fans in mind. But considering growth from the global esports betting scene, which estimates around $10.7 billion in turnover for League of Legends and VALORANT as early as 2024, it was apparent that Riot had to confront the reality instead of hiding from it.
What Riot Games’ Betting Sponsorships Will Look Like
From 2025, betting sponsorships will specifically discuss Riot Games’ top-of-the-line leagues, League of Legends European Championship and VALORANT Champions Tour. This will be a major shift in the esports sponsorship picture. Riot will allow teams in these top-tier competitions in these regions to work with licensed and fully considered betting companies. The goal is to create new revenue streams for esports organisations whilst safeguarding the integrity and security of the ecosystem.
Most importantly, Riot is making specific rules: sponsors will not be integrated onto personal official apparel, nor in any Riot-owned broadcasts and social channels. Instead, visibility within sponsorship will be very specifically defined to avoid promoting betting at all within any official content. Riot is trying to balance the commercial opportunity to work with betting sponsors for community members who may have concerns.
Riot Games will introduce strict vetting requirements for any betting partners to protect fans and the integrity of the competitions. Any potential sponsors must adhere to local regulations, licensing, and Riot’s own expectations for transparency and responsible advertising. This vetting process is important, as it looks to cut back on unregulated and unscrupulous operators coming into this space. And it is especially relevant considering unlicensed bookmakers handle a lot of esports betting today.
Why Riot Is Opening the Door Now
The reason Riot Games is now opening the floodgates to betting sponsorships is mainly because of the sheer size of the esports betting market for its key titles—League of Legends and VALORANT. While Riot has placed restrictions on some betting, the reality is that most of the betting (about 70% of it) takes place in unregulated markets and unlicensed betting companies. This not only hurts fans but also puts them at risk and creates issues of integrity within the game.
John Needham, president of publishing and esports at Riot, stated that informed sponsorships with betting companies guided by strict controls are better than doing nothing while risks go unchallenged.
What’s more is that Riot’s choice is a long-term commitment toward a sustainable esports ecosystem, since they’re also creating new streams of revenue for pro teams. Teams long fought for a way to partner with betting companies to diversify their revenue. And this is even more relevant now that they are planning on a more competitive franchised league space.
Betting on Change
Riot Games’ choice to allow betting sponsorships in the LEC and VCT is not merely a business decision. It is an entire paradigm shift in the esports ecosystem in general. By cautiously dipping its toe into betting, Riot is creating an immense financial opportunity for teams, while also cutting down on risk. This will be a balancing act, and if successful, could lead to a new standard for betting in esports.
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