Riot Games eyes Polymarket and Kalshi for esports sponsorships

Michael Hassall Published 11/09/2026

Riot Games, the creator of League of Legends and VALORANT is reportedly exploring the protentional of sponsorship deals with prediction market operators including Polymarket and Kalshi, as per reports emerging late last night (Sep. 10).

First reported by Cecilia D’Anastasio of Bloomberg, Riot has started conversations with the two top prediction market operators, Kalshi and Polymarket, with a view to one or both of them becoming sponsors within Riot Games’ ecosystem.

Polymarket and Kalshi could appear as sponsors on LoL and VALORANT jerseys soon

According to Bloomberg, any prediction market sponsor would have to use Riot’s official data partner, GRID Esports. Riot has held a partial stake in GRID since 2023. The company provides data services across several esports titles, working with publishers including Krafton, Riot and Ubisoft, as well as tournament organizers such as BLAST and ESL FACEIT Group.

Responding to the reports, Riot Games downplayed concerns about integrity issues and uncertainty around Polymarket, Kalshi, and other prediction markets:

“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.”

The potential partnerships also come at a time when Riot is still trying to solve one of esports’ biggest problems: How do you make the business sustainable?

Any prediction market partnership would likely have to utilize GRID, a data provider for many esports organizations. Image credit: GRID.

Competitive gaming has historically been difficult to operate profitably, with League of Legends teams in particular relying heavily on publisher support alongside sponsorships, merchandise, media and other commercial revenue.

Riot has publicly acknowledged several times that it operates esports at a loss, although the veracity of these claims and the underlying economics are considerably more complicated than that headline suggests. This new reports suggest prediction markets could be the answer Riot Games needs. Or at least, the one it’s pursuing.

Why prediction markets could appeal to esports

Prediction market operators have several reasons themselves to pursue esports partnerships. They can put their markets in front of a highly-engaged audience (the fanatical esports followers), while traders participating in those markets can generate additional interest around major competitions and outcomes.

For esports organizations, meanwhile, sponsorship revenue from the sector could provide another source of funding at a time when teams face significant operating costs and relatively limited paths to profitability. Within League of Legends alone, we’ve seen multiple teams exit the space due to financial pressures, especially within legacy, highly visible leagues like the LCS.

However, there are still legitimate questions about how prediction markets should be integrated into esports. Riot Games would need to consider issues including the integrity of competitive data, responsible market design, audience demographics and the potential impact of market activity on perceptions of competitive integrity.

The reported requirement that prediction market operators use GRID Esports data could be particularly important. Using a centralized, official data source gives Riot greater control over how information from its competitions is distributed and incorporated into prediction markets, including how outcomes and implied probabilities are represented. But while their use of GRID perhaps mitigates some of these issues, it raises more questions about competitive integrity and conflicts of interest than it answers.

Prediction markets could be incorporated across the entirety of the Riot Games esports ecosystem. Image Credit: Riot Games.

Prediction markets could support Riot’s broader esports strategy

For Riot, the potential move looks consistent with its longer-term effort to build a more sustainable economic model for esports.

If teams can generate more reliable commercial revenue, Riot may face less pressure to provide ongoing financial support simply to keep leagues and organizations operating. In turn, that could create a healthier ecosystem in which publishers, teams, sponsors, traders and fans, everyone in fact, all have stronger incentives to remain engaged and participate in esports.

The reported discussions with Polymarket and Kalshi represent more than a potential new category of sponsor. Instead, they’re another step in Riot’s effort to find sustainable models for esports, particularly as the company prepares for another major League of Legends competitive season next year and Worlds 2026 around the corner.

Featured Image Credit: Riot Games

Michael Hassall

About Michael Hassall

Michael is a eight-year veteran of the games writing space, but has being playing them for as long as he can remember. With bylines across the internet, he’s used his expertise to cover esports, prediction markets, mainstream gaming, streamers, and more besides.

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