Former League of Legends LCK commentator MonteCristo revealed today that the popular game League of Legends developer "Riot Games" will allow esports teams for League of Legends and VALORANT to sign sponsorship contracts with gambling companies next year. This news has not yet been officially confirmed, but if implemented, it will open up new possibilities for esports event operations and team revenues. (Background: Esports team RNG is going bankrupt! CEO gambles: Issuing NFTs to save financial crisis) According to former League of Legends LCK commentator MonteCristo, the popular game League of Legends developer "Riot Games" will allow esports teams for League of Legends and VALORANT to sign sponsorship contracts with gambling companies next year. Gambling companies interested in becoming sponsors must be approved by Riot Games and are not allowed to place their logos on team uniforms. MonteCristo praised: I think this is long overdue, and it will be good for stabilizing team economics. I think this is long overdue and it will be good for stabilizing team economics. — MonteCristo (@MonteCristo) December 13, 2024. This news has sparked heated discussions among netizens, who have expressed that "virtual currency platforms are flooding in", "it should have been opened earlier, a match without betting is like eating fried chicken without cola", "it's okay, baseball advertisements are all about cheerleaders dancing in gambling entertainment ads", and "there are already many foreign sports esports". Currently, Riot Games has not officially confirmed this news. If this policy is implemented, it means that their openness to the esports business model is gradually increasing, also opening up new possibilities for esports event operations and team revenues. The gambling industry has long shown interest in esports, and if the policy changes, discussions and implementations of related collaborations will become the focus in the future. Esports teams for League of Legends previously did not allow sponsorships from the gambling industry. The LCK Cup, which will take place in January next year, may become an important opportunity to observe the impact of the new policy. At the same time, as part of the economic participation of esports fans, cryptocurrency gambling platforms like Rollbit are also expected to seek compliance in esports gambling under the new policy. Similar rumors were dismissed last year. However, it is worth noting that similar news had emerged last year but was later debunked. In March last year, the Turkish esports website Esporkolik reported that Riot Games would allow esports teams in its various ecosystems to sign sponsorship contracts with gambling companies: According to information received by Esporkolik, Riot Games will soon allow teams to collaborate with betting brands, especially for VALORANT. Esporkolik’e gelen bilgilere göre Riot Games yakın dönemde takımların VALORANT özelinde bahis markalarıyla işbirliği yapmasına izin verecek. pic.twitter.com/7klKusQwoO — Esporkolik (@esporkolik) March 15, 2023. At that time, Riot Games issued an official statement refuting this rumor: Riot remains committed to investment opportunities, ensuring the integrity of all our esports, providing fans with an excellent experience, and generating revenue streams for our teams. While the current policy regarding approval of team sponsor categories has not changed, we will continue to evaluate all opportunities that provide safe, reliable, and meaningful experiences to best support the development of our global esports ecosystem.