Reports suggest that Riot Games is currently engaged in discussions with major prediction market operators Kalshi and Polymarket regarding potential sponsorship agreements.
Last year, Riot relaxed its regulations on gambling sponsors, opening up the possibility for partnerships with prediction markets to support competitions and boost prize money.
Riot’s assessment of prediction markets
While no official agreements have been confirmed yet, Riot has stated that it is analyzing the potential benefits that prediction markets could offer, taking into account any associated risks.
According to Riot Games spokesperson Joe Hixson in an interview with Bloomberg, “Prediction markets are an emerging space that we’re evaluating with a focus on safeguarding competitive integrity, potential value for teams, impact on the fan experience, and alignment with our broader ecosystem goals.”
Neither Polymarket nor Kalshi have confirmed the discussions. Both companies have been actively seeking partnerships in the US.
In the realm of esports, Polymarket has already secured deals with BLAST and GRID, gaining access to official Riot Games data. It was reported by Bloomberg that any prediction market sponsor approved by Riot would need to acquire official betting data through GRID.
Approved gambling companies must source their match data exclusively through GRID to prevent match-fixing and data corruption.
GRID leveraging Riot Games data for its betting service
Recently, GRID introduced its own betting service, GRID Odds, providing clients with precise data-driven pricing and a wide array of markets, from match and map winners to player props and in-round betting.
Since prices on prediction markets are determined by users or market makers rather than the platform itself, it remains unclear if GRID would contribute to this aspect of the service for prediction markets.
UK regulations may hinder prediction market sponsorships
While Kalshi and Polymarket face restrictions in the UK, discussions are underway to relax these rules. If successful, users could access platforms offering everything from esports to crypto and election markets.
Although unlicensed companies may still forge partnerships with esports teams, the UK government is contemplating stricter regulations. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) initiated a review of unlicensed gambling sponsors in July.
Primarily concerned with Premier League sponsorships, the DCMS is scrutinizing deals with gambling companies lacking UK licenses, a practice prevalent among several clubs.
Any regulations introduced would likely extend to esports competitions as well. For instance, PGL’s current partnership with 1xbet, an entity without a UK license, could be impacted.
Presently, regulations do not restrict platforms from advertising to UK viewers during broadcasts. However, this could change with the introduction of new rules, potentially leading to limitations on advertising for companies like Polymarket in Riot’s UK competitions unless there are alterations to the rules governing prediction markets.