American video game developer Riot Games is opening the door to betting sponsorships for Tier 1 League of Legends and Valorant teams in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Riot Games’ head of publishing and esports, John Needham, said that allowing sportsbooks to sponsor teams would help to build “a sustainable ecosystem” for its games and deliver on one of the most common requests from eSports teams.
“We know sports betting isn’t for everyone, and that some fans have strong feelings about it, and we respect that,” Needham explained. “However, the reality is that betting activity already exists around our sports and will continue whether we engage with it or not.”
Needham pointed to data gathered by Sportradar, which shows that betting turnover on League of Legends esports already exceeds $10.7 billion, with 70 per cent of those bets being placed on unregulated sites.
The policy change aims to achieve three goals: generate revenue for teams, support the development of regulations and best practices, and strengthen and reinforce the competitive integrity of eSports.
To meet these goals, any partners will need to be vetted and approved by Riot Games, and any potential partner must use official GRID eSports data.
Riot Games has also established a requirement for teams to create and assess their own internal integrity programs, ensuring competitive integrity, safeguarding players and young audiences, and upholding responsible betting practices.
“We believe that showing up in this space — responsibly — is better than letting others define it for us,” Needham concluded.
The new sportsbook policy will prohibit sports betting ads during broadcasts and no betting partner logos will be allowed on team jerseys.