Published at 03:38 hrs on March 16, 2023
Last update: March 17, 2023 at 03:26h.
A report recently indicated that Riot Games was changing its stance regarding sponsorships in eSports. The report was denied by the gaming company. The report was refuted by the gaming company. Riot Games denied the rumor that it would allow sports betting sponsorships for Valorant. Image: Riot Games.
Esporkilik 02001010 reported Wednesday that Riot would allow sponsors of sports events and teams in its Valorant ecosystem. Although they are already present in CS:GO, FIFA and in a limited manner,A Riot source says that the report is false.Esports have experienced substantial reductions in their investment funds in recent years, especially in Europe and the US. This has made it difficult to generate new revenue. Bookmakers could possibly allow more sponsorships. Sports betting and gambling operators often pay more than other segments.
Betting Brand Baloney
If
Esporkilik
‘s report is true, it would mark the third time Riot has dealt with controversy over its sponsorship policies in the past few years. Three years ago, the eSports division of Riot accepted financial support from Saudi Arabia. But that deal fell apart after community pressure.That same pressure could be at the nucleus of the current sponsorship rumors. Esporkolik
asserts that it received details directly from Riot about the new sponsorship policies, despite the gaming company later refuting the claim.Dot Esports, a media outlet focusing on gaming and eSports, received confirmation from Riot that no sponsorship policies have been changed. Deals with sportsbooks are still off the table. Riot also stated that it will continue to evaluate all possibilities
Dropping hints about expanding sponsorship options would help to evaluate new opportunities. Given Riot’s previous backlash with its Saudi deal, allowing the eSports community to respond to a rumor would offer insight into how well sports betting sponsorships would be received.That’s not to say that Riot has taken this route – perhaps
Esporkolik
misinterpreted the information it received. However, if Riot was looking for feedback, it got it.Market CrossoverThere were more than a few negative comments on social media channels about the possibility of sports betting operators sponsoring events and teams. There is still betting in eSports. VIE.gg, an eSports betting operator, sponsors Dignitas’ CSGO team. Faze Clan was sponsored by DraftKings in 2021.
. However, most gamers do not like this idea. The reason is that the gamers are young. According to Statista, the average American gamer is aged between 18 and 25, while 24% are under 18.
Riot made a deal to promote the cryptocurrency exchange in 2022. The exchange crashed later in the year. The exchange also signed an agreement with Team SoloMid in 2011. Viewership of some events, like last year’s League of Legends Championship Series finals, dropped by as much as 33%.
Recently, the Valorant Challengers League in Europe had to reduce its content and broadcasts after its organizer, Promod, lost several sponsors, according to
Dot Esports
. Promod is now “operating the league at cost,” which questions its survivability.