Riot Games approves sponsoring by sports betting platforms
24 January 2025
The year 2025 is not even a month old yet, but Riot Games, developers behind huge international esports hits like League of Legends and VALORANT, seems to be set on dominating headlines. Just a few days ago, the company announced First Stand, the first international League of Legends event of the year, and now they have come out with another big one. That’s because Riot’s Chief Operating Officer of Esports, Whalen Rozelle, has revealed that the company will start to allow betting sponsorships for its partnered esports teams in League of Legends and VALORANT.
Significant policy change for Riot Games
The reason why the announcement by Riot’s COO took international esports headlines by storm is that previously, the company maintained a strict no-betting stance. This included a prohibition of betting sponsors for teams competing in official Riot Games tournaments. It should be noted though, that Riot Games will still attempt to keep strict control over which betting sponsors and platforms are signed as sponsors by the partnered teams.
“This is a new sponsorship category for our esports, and we’ll approach it thoughtfully”, writes Whalen Rozelle on his own X account, “We’ll learn a lot along the way, and we’ll make changes if at any point this compromises the integrity of the sport or impacts the high-quality experience our fans have today. Depending on how this initial implementation goes, we’ll evaluate opportunities to expand—or refine—our approach in the future.”
Rozelle clarifies details
As you can imagine, the main concern when it comes to betting sponsors is the potential impact their advertising can have on the gambling behaviour of players and fans, and Riot says they share that concern. At the same time, betting is legal in many parts of the world and it can add a fantastic level of excitement to the overall experience. Also, betting companies have been showing considerable interest in the world of international esports for years and the money they bring with them is becoming more and more essential for companies and organizations.
In order to address some of the concerns mentioned above, Rozelle has clarified some details in regard to his employer’s policy shift. He clearly mentions the value of unlocking such a considerable new revenue stream for teams, but also repeats Riot’s priority, which is creating and maintaining the integrity of both their competitions and the overall fan experience.
“1. Riot-owned channels will stay betting-free”, Rozelle writes, “No betting brands will appear on our broadcasts, socials, or jerseys. 2. Riot will vet all potential betting partners to meet our standards for integrity, transparency, and fan engagement. All sports books partnering with teams will need to meet local regulatory and licensing requirements and match Riot requirements around content and promotion for this category.”
After the announcement by Riot Games, you can expect more than a few League of Legends and VALORANT teams to propose betting sponsors over the coming weeks and months. They will be allowed to do so for the first time in preparation for the 2025 season.