Riot Games is moving to officially sanction sports-betting sponsorships for its top-tier esports, including League of Legends and Valorant.

The plan applies to tier-1 teams, while Riot itself will not permit betting ads in its own broadcasts or official channels.

Teams, however, will be allowed to monetize through sponsorships on their own platforms.

In a company blog, John Needham outlines a “guardrails first” framework to govern these partnerships.

The framework rests on four guardrails intended to constrain how sponsorships can operate.

First, Riot will vet and approve betting partners, though the criteria used for approval have not been publicly shared.

Second, to keep competition fair, official partners must use Grid, Riot’s sanctioned data platform for LoL and Valorant.

Third, teams must implement internal integrity programs to guard against league-rule violations tied to betting.

Fourth, Riot plans to reinvest a portion of sponsorship revenue to support Riot’s tier-2, or lower-division, leagues.

A major concern around betting growth has been the surge of advertising; Riot says there will be no ads from sports-betting companies in Riot-owned broadcasts or on Riot’s social channels.

jersey branding from betting partners is also forbidden; advertisements can only appear on team-owned channels.

Needham adds that teams will decide how betting content appears on their channels, within the sponsorship program, platform terms of service, and local regulations.

The stated aim is to bring betting activity into a regulated space and to exert regulatory influence, while potentially increasing revenue from betting apps.

Riot cites Sportradar data showing that global betting turnover involving LoL Esports and VCT reached $10.7 billion in 2024, with about 70% of bets placed in unregulated markets.

The move is framed as an effort to curb underground betting activity by bringing it under Riot’s governance and oversight.

However, the post does not address broader social harms associated with betting.

Some studies link rising harassment of college athletes to betting-related disappointment, with evidence suggesting women may be disproportionately affected.

Riot has not announced specific measures to mitigate these social harms; its emphasis remains on integrity and anti–match-fixing concerns.

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