Riot Games holds sponsorship talks with Polymarket, Kalshi

Riot Games has discussed potential esports sponsorship agreements with prediction market operators Kalshi and Polymarket as the League of Legends World Championship approaches in October. Summary Riot Games has discussed potential esports sponsorship deals with prediction market operators Kalshi and Polymarket. Any approved sponsor would be required to use official betting data supplied through Riot partner GRID Esports. The talks come ahead of the League of Legends World Championship, which begins in October. Riot said it is evaluating prediction markets based on competitive integrity, value for teams and their impact on fans. Bloomberg reported on Sept. 11, citing people familiar with the private talks, that the Tencent-owned video game developer has held discussions with both companies over possible deals involving its esports business. Riot, which operates competitive tournaments for League of Legends and Valorant, has not committed to either platform. “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,” Riot Ga...