Two. As of 11 September 2026, the only Riot-approved betting sponsorships this desk has found announced for Tier 1 LoL and VALORANT teams are MIBR with 1xBet (VCT Americas, November 2025) and G2 with Winamax (LEC, January 2026). Riot opened the category on 26 June 2025 for Americas and EMEA only; no other announcement turned up in what we read.
That answers “which LoL and VALORANT teams have betting sponsors”. Here is what each deal says, against Riot’s own conditions.
What Riot actually allowed
John Needham’s post of 26 June 2025 opened betting as a sponsorship category for Tier 1 LoL Esports and VCT teams in the Americas and EMEA, with four conditions. Riot vets and approves every operator before it can approach a team. Every approved operator must use GRID data. Each team must run an Internal Integrity Program. And a portion of Riot’s program revenue is earmarked for Tier 2.
The placement rule, as written: Riot-owned broadcast and social channels “will stay betting-free, which means no ads, no sponsored segments from betting partners, and no betting partner logos on team jerseys.” We read that page on 11 September 2026; it names no team and no operator.
Which LoL and VALORANT teams have betting sponsors: the two announced deals
| Team | League | Operator | Announced | Placement as reported | Licence, as described by the source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIBR | VCT Americas | 1xBet | 26 Nov 2025 | Jerseys, video content, social channels | Curaçao e-gaming licence; “legal to use in Brazil” but not in the US, per The Esports Advocate |
| G2 Esports | LEC | Winamax | 18 Jan 2026 report; LEC Versus opened 17 Jan | Co-streams and content only; not jerseys, not the official broadcast | Not stated in the source we read |
Sources: The Esports Advocate for MIBR, azat.tv for G2, both read by this desk on 11 September 2026. Neither team’s own announcement was opened; the terms are as relayed.
MIBR x 1xBet. Per The Esports Advocate, MIBR announced the deal on 26 November 2025, terms undisclosed, and called it the first betting sponsorship for a VCT team officially approved by Riot. That “first” is MIBR’s claim, relayed. 1xBet has backed MIBR’s CS team since 2022. The Esports Advocate describes 1xBet as a Curaçao-licensed operator of the kind often called grey market; we have checked no register and do not call it licensed anywhere.
G2 Esports x Winamax. Per azat.tv, G2 signed Winamax for its LEC team as LEC Versus 2026 opened, and Winamax’s presence is limited to G2’s co-streams and content. The same report says the Riot-Winamax agreement covering the LEC and VCT EMEA is non-exclusive. Winamax’s licence position was not stated in what we read, so we make no claim about it.
The jersey question
Riot’s text says no betting partner logos on team jerseys. The MIBR report says jerseys. Riot’s line may cover only jerseys as seen on Riot-owned channels, or the unpublished program guidelines may say more; we have not seen them. G2’s deal, as reported, stays inside the narrowest reading. MIBR’s, as reported, does not.
Who has not announced anything
In the sources this desk read on 11 September 2026, we found no announced betting sponsor for any other partner team in the LEC, LTA North, LTA South, VCT EMEA or VCT Americas. That is not proof none exists.
Why it matters this week
The vendor Riot mandates for every betting partner now sells the odds too. Esports News UK reported on 10 September 2026 that GRID has launched GRID Odds, a pricing service for operators covering CS2, Dota 2, VALORANT and League of Legends. We assessed that stack in GRID, assessed, and the wider market in the data-rights economy behind esports odds. A program that requires GRID data, run by a publisher invested in GRID, feeding odds sold by GRID, is a rights deal wearing an integrity badge.
Questions readers keep asking
Can esports teams have betting sponsors? In Riot’s two games, yes, narrowly. Since 26 June 2025 Riot allows betting sponsors for Tier 1 LoL and VALORANT teams in the Americas and EMEA only. Riot vets and approves every operator, the operator must run on GRID data, and the team must have an Internal Integrity Program. Other publishers set their own rules.
Why did Riot allow betting sponsors? Revenue and control, in Riot’s own telling. John Needham’s post says partner teams had asked for the category for years, cites a Sportradar figure of $10.7 billion in global betting turnover on LoL Esports and VCT in 2024, and says 70% of bets across sports land with unlicensed bookmakers.
Can betting sponsors appear on LoL jerseys? Riot’s post says its own broadcast and social channels stay betting-free: no ads, no sponsored segments, and no betting partner logos on team jerseys. The MIBR report of 1xBet on jerseys sits awkwardly against that wording; we have not seen how it was reconciled.
What data provider must Riot betting partners use? GRID. Riot’s post says any betting partner must use GRID to power its offering, citing Riot’s 2023 partnership and investment in GRID. On 10 September 2026 GRID launched GRID Odds, a pricing service for operators, per Esports News UK, so the mandated data vendor now sells odds too.
A sponsor logo on a co-stream is not a recommendation of the book behind it. If you bet on LoL or VALORANT, do it with an operator licensed where you live, as we set out in licensed books keep widening esports menus, and only if you are of age there. Gamble responsibly.