Riot Games in talks with Polymarket, Kalshi over sponsorships

Riot Games is in preliminary discussions with prediction market operators Polymarket and Kalshi about possible sponsorship deals. The company has not confirmed any agreements and says it is evaluating potential benefits and risks.

Riot eased its rules on gambling sponsors last year, opening the door to a broader set of betting and prediction platforms for esports sponsorship. The company is considering how partnerships of this type would affect teams, viewers and the wider competitive ecosystem.

Riot Games spokesperson Joe Hixson stated: “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.”

Any operator approved to sponsor Riot-controlled events would be required to obtain official match data through GRID, the event-data provider that distributes Riot’s match feeds for betting and integrity purposes. Riot requires licensed gambling partners to use GRID’s data feeds exclusively to reduce the risk of match-fixing and protect data integrity.

GRID has expanded its commercial offerings and recently launched GRID Odds, a service that provides data-driven pricing across markets such as match and map winners, player props and in-round wagers. Prediction markets set prices based on user activity or market makers rather than platform-controlled odds, so it is not yet clear whether GRID would supply pricing services or other technical support to prediction market platforms. Any such arrangement would need to comply with Riot’s data-use rules.

Polymarket has existing partnerships in esports and a data relationship with GRID that gives it access to official match feeds. Kalshi and Polymarket are currently blocked for users in the United Kingdom, where the Department for Culture, Media and Sport launched a review in July of unlicensed gambling sponsorships. That review focuses on sponsorship deals held by sports clubs but could lead to rules that also apply to esports events and broadcasts.

If the UK introduces tighter rules, visibility for some prediction market sponsors could be limited during competitions held in or aimed at UK audiences. Esports organizers with existing deals involving companies lacking UK licenses could also face changes in how those partnerships are presented to UK viewers.

Riot’s discussions with prediction market operators continue as regulators review how betting-related commercial ties are governed. The company says it will balance commercial opportunities with measures to protect match integrity and the spectator experience.

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