As Riot Games officially announced on June 27, 2025, the opening of betting sponsorship cooperation in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) and the Americas regions, the global esports community has once again sparked heated discussions. Earlier in the year, Riot had revealed an open attitude towards betting sponsorships, and after six months of preparation, the specific plans were finally released. In the coming months, we are expected to see deep cooperation between betting companies and clubs.
The relationship between betting and sports has a long history. Legal, large-scale betting platforms profit through betting commissions, relying on scientific data models and actuaries to ensure the fairness and sustainable development of events, promoting long-term stable market expansion. For this purpose, betting institutions actively invest in the esports industry chain, supporting young players, clubs, and data service providers, boosting the healthy development of the ecosystem. In contrast, illegal betting platforms often manipulate match-fixing and false advertising, pursuing short-term excessive profits, severely undermining the credibility of the events.
Currently, esports betting is not yet fully covered by legal and social consensus, and betting sponsorships are not visible in the Chinese market. This article will not discuss the specific betting policies of the Chinese market, but will focus on the logic and challenges behind Riot's open betting sponsorship.
Firstly, revenue pressure is the core driving force behind Riot Games' move. The global pandemic has led to an overall economic contraction, affecting clubs' sponsorship fees, copyright sharing, and peripheral income. Esports clubs, lacking offline venues and ticket revenue, struggle to form a stable fan economy and industry chain ecosystem, making club survival difficult. As the organizer of events and the largest sponsor, Riot Games bears the responsibility of maintaining the event ecosystem. Traditional skin sales and ticket revenue are insufficient to support the increasingly large operational costs. Introducing legal betting sponsorship has become an effective way to expand revenue, at least until 2030, it is the currently feasible main strategy.
Secondly, the arrival of the Electronic Sports World Cup (EWC) has intensified the competitive pressure on clubs. EWC provides global operating clubs with key chips for display and negotiation. Since the League of Legends World Series (S series) is still dominated by strong teams from China and Korea, Western clubs face limitations in traffic and exposure. To retain clubs, Riot must offer more incentives and more flexible cooperation conditions, and the introduction of betting sponsorship has become an important card. Through this step, Riot can stabilize the club's footing, gaining time and space for ecological reconstruction in the coming years.
Finally, the community's response and the vitality of the ecosystem are also key considerations for Riot. In recent years, there have been many pessimistic voices in the North American League of Legends community, a trend that has also affected other regions. Tightened sponsor market budgets directly affect event promotion and community activity. Online betting platforms, as new funders, are eager to integrate steadily into the community ecosystem, aiding content dissemination and fan maintenance. In the future, in the EMEA and Americas regions, we will see the subtle influence brought by betting sponsorships.
From the perspective of demographic structure and audience distribution, the EMEA and Americas regions are facing the problem of sluggish growth in young audiences. Data shows that in recent years, the proportion of English and Spanish viewers in the World Championship finals has declined, with Vietnamese viewers filling some of the gaps. Under this pattern, betting sponsorship is both an economic necessity and a strategic ecological supplement.
Overall, Riot Games' opening of betting sponsorship is more of a stopgap measure rather than a full liberalization. Legal regulation, organizational models, and risk control remain under Riot's leadership, retaining ample initiative. The esports ecosystem, facing external pressures, must continuously adjust, and similar betting collaborations may appear among more copyright holders in the future, as the commercialization path of esports continues to explore and coexist with controversies.
Riot Games' move is an attempt to balance commercial pressures with the sustainable development of the esports ecosystem. We look forward to a healthier and fairer cooperation model as the esports market and regulatory environment mature.
