Riot Games esports teams to be allowed betting partners in commercial shake-up
COO Whalen Rozelle says gambling firms will be vetted to ensure they meet local and regulatory requirements in major shift in organiser’s approach
Riot Games COO Whalen Rozelle has confirmed the video games developer will allow professional teams to secure betting sponsorships, providing operators meet local regulatory and licensing requirements.
The move follows an announcement made in March by John Needham, Riot Games president of esports, who said that there will be new sponsorship categories that included alcoholic products and “government-related entities”.
Months later and a new category has been added, with gambling firms set to be allowed to partner with teams competing in two of Riot Games’ esports titles, League of Legends (LoL) and Valorant.
The news first broke last week when esports content creator MonteCristo tweeted: “Riot will be allowing esports teams to have betting sponsors in League of Legends and Valorant in 2025.”
Rozelle then took to X yesterday, 16 December, to further explain the company’s new stance and how it will attempt to prevent bad actors from entering the space.
He commented: “Saw some chatter about policies with teams and betting platforms these past few days, and thought some context could be helpful.
“A few weeks ago, we told partnered LoL esports and VCT [Valorant Champions Tour] teams in Americas and EMEA that starting in 2025, they’ll be allowed to explore partnerships with Riot-approved betting platforms.
“This decision wasn’t made lightly – it’s the result of careful study and planning to settle on a move that will unlock new revenue opportunities for teams while also protecting competitive integrity and the overall fan experience.”
Though gambling sponsors will make its way into the Riot Games ecosystem, Rozelle added that Riot-owned channels will stay “betting-free”.
He also highlighted that sportsbooks looking to partner with a team will need to meet local and regulatory requirements, as well as the company’s own criteria.
“Here are two important things to know: Riot-owned channels will stay betting-free. No betting brands will appear on our broadcasts, socials or jerseys.
“[And] Riot will vet all potential betting partners to meet our standards for integrity, transparency and fan engagement.”
He added: “All sportsbooks partnering with teams will need to meet local regulatory and licensing requirements and match Riot requirements around content and promotion for this category.
“This is a new sponsorship category for our esports, and we’ll approach it thoughtfully. 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.”