Game developer Riot Games has officially confirmed it will allow teams in VALORANT and League of Legends to have betting sponsors starting in 2025.
Image Credit: Riot Games
Betting sponsors coming to League of Legends and VALORANT? Riot Games share their stance on the matter
First leaked by esports personality and former caster MonteCristo, the Riot Games’ COO of Esports, Whalen Rozelle, confirmed the decision by allowing League of Legends esports and VCT teams in the Americas and EMEA to collaborate and partner with betting sponsors.
That being said, Rozelle noted that those brands cannot be shown on official Riot broadcasts, as Riot continues to take a cautionary approach when it comes to betting. According to Rozelle, “the decision was not made lightly”.
Nonetheless, it’s still a major policy change from the game publisher, but it would potentially benefit esports teams in the space, considering betting brands usually have plenty of budgets to invest. This opens up new revenue opportunities and is one of the solutions to make esports financially more sustainable for organizations.
Betting sponsors will have to meet company standards
As announced by Rozelle, Riot Games requires “all sports books partnering with teams to meet local regulatory and licensing requirements and match Riot requirements around content and promotion for this category.”
One of the restrictions is related to the inability to place betting sponsors on the jersey as well as Riot-produced content and broadcast. It will be down to the teams’ ability to find ways to lock in economically valuable partnerships while having set restrictions in place.
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.” added Rozelle.