168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Riot Games has announced that gambling and sports betting sponsorships will now be permissible in its 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:League of Legends and Valorant esports ecosystems. These types of s🎐ponsorships w🗹ere already prevalent in other esports, such as Counter-Strike, but were prohibited by Riot, until now.
In a , Riot's president of publishing and esports, Jo꧟hn Needham, outlined why Riot is changing its stance.
The Perpetual Revenue Problem
"We know sports betting isn't for everyone, and that some fans have strong feelings a🧜bout it, and🐻 we respect that," Needham writes. "However, the reality is that betting activity already exists around our sports and will continue whether we engage with it or not."
"Historically, this has been a restricted sponsorship category, and Riot has not engaged with betting companies. Teams have asked us to reconsider our stance, and after years of analysis to ensure we got it right, we agreed it was time to open up this category to create more revenue opportunities for teams," the pꦛost continues.
Needham asserts that Riot should regulate the betting markets surrounding its ga🙈me, rather than unlicensed bookmakers.
Riot intends to place various "guardrails" on these sponsorships to ensure they are handled responsibly. Riot will be vetting all potential sports bettingဣ sponsors and mandating that all teams establish their own "integrity checks" to prevent vulnerable players and viewers from being forcibly exposed to gambling.
These sponsorships will only be open to "Tier 1 LoL Esports and VCT teams in the Americas and EMEA." A portion of the revenue earned by Riot from s𝓡ports betting sponsorships will be reinvested into the second tier of its esports. Specifically, prize pools will be increased, new tournaments created, educational programs for tournament organisers and aspiring professionals will be funded, and "additional integrity system developments" ꦦwill be added.
However, Riot still prohibits these sponsors from appearing on any Riot-owned broadcast or social channel. This means that although teꦕams can ♍accept sports betting sponsors, they won't be permitted to display these sponsors on team wear.
"With any new endeavour, there will be challenges, and if we need to make adjustments, we will. Please know our overall commitment is to do right by our players, teams, and fans as well as the world-class esports experience that we’ve built together and want to see🃏 thrive for years to come," the statement concludes.
Generating revenue has always been a sticking point with esports, as, de💙spite its popularity, teams can't profit from gate receipts or television rights agreements, the 🌳main source of revenue for traditional sports teams.
As these♎ esports grew in popularity, teams turned to venture capital to fund the inflated costs of their player rosters. However, after several years of failing to generate a return on investment for these backers, this money has largely dried up.
This turn towards less desirable backing, such as sports 𓃲betting sponsorships and participation in sportswashing events like the Esports World Cup, will likely become more prevalent as the industry grapples with 🌠its existential revenue problem.
- Date Founded
- September ꦑ1, 2🔜006
- Parent Company
- Tencent
- Subsidiaries
- 🦂 Riot Forge
- Headquarters
- W✅est Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, Uni▨ted States
