If you’re not aware, though it’d be pretty hard to miss, sports betting is a thing now. Legally, I mean. Sponsorships are plastered all over podcasts and broadcasts. You can’t click more than three times on the internet without catching something from one of the major sportsbooks. It’s wild. Well, Riot Games has decided they want in on this and I just want to know one thing: Have y’all not been paying attention? In a post on the Riot Games website, President of Publishing & Esports John Needham notes that “the reality is that betting activity already exists around our sports and will continue whether we engage with it or not”.
Riot Games is making a mistake
That statement is factually correct. It’s essentially the same reasoning given by all of the major American sports leagues. It’s also a flawed reason for getting into it. Because while you focus on what’s going on around eSports, you also have to worry about what goes on within it. This idea that you are going to be the one to reign this in and control it is going to cause more problems than it does solutions.
Let’s look at the NFL, the multi-billion-dollar sports empire that basically owns a day of the week. Did you know that multiple players have already eaten suspensions for violating the league’s gambling policy? One such player was former Atlanta Falcons and current Tennessee Titans wide receiver, Calvin Ridley. He was suspended for a year for gambling, including doing so on his own team. And that’s after stepping away from the Falcons for mental health reasons. Then there’s the case of former Philadelphia Eagles and current Minnesota Vikings cornerback, Isaiah Rodgers. Got popped for a year as well. And he tried to do it under someone else’s name.
The NBA isn’t safe either. Yet another multi-billion-dollar entity, they basically turn a whole city upside down for Valentines Day weekend. So far, the NBA hasn’t dealt with a major player getting caught up in a betting scandal. But they have some history with this type of stuff, so they can sniff it out, right? Wrong. Jontay Porter, former last man off the bench for the Toronto Raptors, gets himself caught up in not just betting on NBA games himself, but actively participating in making sure that bets placed on himself would hit. He got banned from the league for life and is facing jail time behind the scheme.
There is far more to consider here than just making money
By opening up to these partnerships, it obviously allows for a huge revenue stream for Riot Games. But you’re also opening yourself up to so much more. There’s the potential for actual players to get caught up in this. After all, your reasoning for this is to bring in more money:
“While sponsorships are only open to Tier 1 LoL Esports and VCT teams in Americas and EMEA, the overall program will support the growth and advancement of our Tier 2 esports teams….A portion of Riot’s revenues earned from the sports betting program will be invested back into Tier 2 across a number of areas including: Increasing prize pools and creating new tournaments to support aspiring pros“
Let’s stop right there. You see all that stuff I just typed about the NBA and NFL? Porter may have been a bench player, but his career earnings surpassed 2 million dollars before getting kicked out of the league. Calvin Ridley’s contract was 11 million dollars the year he got suspended. And they still felt the need to do this. You think eSports players won’t when those on a lower tier don’t even have access to the sponsorships themselves? After all, crazy things happen when betting isn’t involved anyway.
All of that is before we even get into the safety aspect of things as it relates to fans. You’re going to openly introduce sports betting to them and introduce a whole new level of harassment for your players. Even with all the safeguards you can put in place, you’re going to deal with some mess. And I hope you’re prepared for it. Because I’ve been watching this movie for the last 4 years. It isn’t a good one.
The post Riot Games is Opening up eSports to Betting. And We’ve All Seen How Well That’s Going in Other Places appeared first on VICE.
