Esports sponsorship is undergoing rapid change as betting brands expand their presence in the industry. Casinos, sportsbooks and crypto-backed platforms are now replacing partnerships once dominated by hardware companies and energy drink makers.
These sponsors are becoming dominant financial partners, reshaping how teams, leagues and tournaments are funded.
This is not a short-term trend, but a structural shift in how money flows through esports.
iGaming is carving out a significant role, influencing competitive gaming in ways that extend beyond simple financial backing. Betting brands are driving new technology, engagement tools and cultural shifts while also raising questions about integrity, demographics and long-term community health.
For those tracking the industry, these sponsorships are already reshaping rosters, event production and tournament calendars. They are also redefining how esports is perceived by audiences, regulators and commercial partners. The story is not only about funding, but about how esports is entering its next stage of maturity.
Integration of Betting Brands into Esports Team Sponsorships
Betting brands have become essential partners for esports organizations, providing financial stability and a competitive advantage.
In the past, team sponsorships were primarily dominated by endemic companies—those directly tied to the gaming industry, such as graphics card manufacturers, PC peripheral brands and software developers. Energy drink companies followed closely behind, bringing in consumer-oriented partnerships that helped drive visibility.
Today, betting brands are stepping into that role with increasing confidence, securing major sponsorship deals that often span multiple years.
This development reflects the rising commercial appeal of esports and the willingness of iGaming companies to invest heavily in a sector that aligns naturally with their digital-first business models.
Betting platforms recognize that esports fans represent an audience comfortable with technology, streaming and online transactions, making them an ideal demographic for digital wagering services. For esports teams, sponsorships provide essential financial lifelines, often supporting day-to-day operations, player salaries and logistics for international competitions.
Why Betting Brands are Expanding in Esports Sponsorship
The expansion of betting brands in esports sponsorship is linked directly to the rapid growth of global esports viewership. Audiences now number in the hundreds of millions, with peak events rivaling traditional sports finals in terms of scale and impact.
Sportsbooks and casinos view these numbers as opportunities to reach young, engaged and global fan bases.
Unlike traditional sports, where advertising channels are fragmented between television, streaming and physical events, esports delivers concentrated digital engagement on platforms like Twitch and YouTube. This makes integration seamless, with logos appearing on streams, in overlays and across social media in ways that audiences consume daily.
Financial pressures also drive this growth. Esports teams incur significant operating costs, ranging from maintaining player housing to covering international travel and equipment expenses. The competition for sponsorship money has intensified, especially as some endemic partners reduce their budgets or exit entirely.
Betting brands are stepping in to fill that gap, offering sponsorship deals large enough to stabilize budgets and, in some cases, allow teams to expand rosters or launch new content projects. The availability of this funding explains why more teams are open to long-term contracts with iGaming firms.
Beyond financial alignment, there is also cultural compatibility.
Esports fans often follow professional matches with the same intensity as traditional sports fans, analyzing stats, predicting outcomes and participating in online discussions. This culture dovetails with the activities promoted by betting companies, which thrive on prediction, speculation and competitive excitement.
Sponsorships amplify that overlap, giving betting brands a role in sustaining the enthusiasm that already exists within the esports community.
Organizing and Hosting Events
The influence of the betting market extends beyond putting logos on jerseys or placing banners on digital broadcasts.
Several companies are now directly involved in organizing and hosting esports events, marking a new level of integration. Thunderpick has sponsored and hosted its own tournaments, creating branded competitions that both promote its platform and contribute to the competitive calendar.
BetBoom, meanwhile, has evolved from a betting operator into a full-fledged esports organization, complete with rosters and events. Its BetBoom Dacha tournament has become a high-profile example of how iGaming companies can establish themselves as event hosts, in addition to sponsors.
This trend highlights the increasing collaborative efforts between betting brands and esports infrastructure.
When sponsors begin to stage their own tournaments, they are no longer peripheral actors but core contributors to shaping the competitive scene. This alters the traditional sponsorship model, transforming betting companies into stakeholders with a vested interest in the ecosystem’s success.
The results are larger prize pools, increased visibility for participating teams and enhanced production standards for fans watching around the world.
The evolution of betting brands into event organizers also signals a shift in sponsorship, moving beyond simple logo placement. By embedding themselves in the competitive ecosystem, these companies are helping to redefine what esports events look like, how they are funded and how audiences experience them.
For the broader industry, this represents both an opportunity and a challenge. While the financial support is significant, the influence of betting sponsors must be carefully managed to strike a balance between commercial benefit and community trust.
Why are Betting Brands Important?
Betting brands are shaping esports in ways that go beyond headline sponsorship deals. Their presence explains both the current stability of the industry and its future growth trajectory.
As teams adapt to shifting financial realities and publishers evaluate the rules of engagement, iGaming companies are emerging as indispensable stakeholders.
Understanding why betting brands are important provides context for their influence on technology, demographics, regulation and risk management within the competitive gaming industry.
Technological Innovation Driving Growth
One of the most significant benefits of a betting brand’s involvement in esports is the technological innovation it enables. Sportsbooks and casinos that enter the space bring advanced tools designed to engage audiences and streamline the wagering process.
Artificial intelligence is being used to generate live odds, giving fans real-time updates that reflect every shift in gameplay. This adds a dynamic layer of interaction that keeps viewers invested throughout matches, even in slower stretches of play.
Blockchain is another tool fueling growth. By integrating distributed ledger technology, betting platforms can offer transparent transaction records, ensuring users that wagers and payouts are verifiable.
This level of transparency builds trust in a sector that has historically faced questions of fairness and legitimacy. Coupled with crypto payments, the use of blockchain makes it easier for global audiences to participate, removing barriers related to currency exchange or regional banking restrictions.
Streaming integrations are also on the rise, with click-to-bet features on platforms like Twitch that allow users to place wagers without leaving the broadcast, embedding betting directly into the viewing experience. This type of engagement generates new revenue streams while strengthening the connection between fans and the competitive ecosystem.
Esports sponsorship from betting brands, therefore, contributes to a technological arms race that enhances both fan experience and commercial viability.
Other Considerations
While technological advancements are central, the importance of a betting brand cannot be fully understood without considering the broader factors that shape esports sponsorship.
Audience Demographics and Cultural Fit
The demographics of esports audiences are uniquely suited to betting sponsorships.
In 2024, approximately 31 percent of viewers were between 18 and 29 years old, with significant engagement also coming from under-18 fans on platforms such as Twitch and TikTok. This age distribution creates both opportunities and responsibilities for sponsors.
For betting companies, the young adult demographic is ideal: tech-native, highly engaged and open to digital-first experiences. For the industry, it requires a balance between monetization and ensuring that underage fans are not disproportionately exposed to gambling promotions.
Cultural fit also matters; esports audiences often enjoy predicting outcomes, debating strategies and tracking player performance. These habits align closely with the mindset encouraged by sportsbooks. Betting sponsorships amplify this overlap, embedding wagering into fan culture in ways that feel natural for some viewers.
This cultural alignment helps explain why betting brands have found traction in esports, even as other sectors remain hesitant to enter.
Integrity Challenges
Integrity remains a significant issue for esports, and betting sponsorships increase both the risks and the resources available to address them.
Match-fixing incidents have surfaced throughout the history of competitive gaming, often involving smaller events where player compensation is limited. The influx of betting money raises the stakes, making robust oversight essential.
Organizations like the Esports Integrity Commission have developed systems to detect suspicious betting patterns, investigate potential breaches and enforce standards. Betting sponsors play a role in funding these efforts, often collaborating with integrity partners to demonstrate their commitment to fair competition.
Regulatory Patchwork
Sponsorship opportunities vary significantly by jurisdiction, resulting in a patchwork system that teams and organizers must navigate.
In countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, strict rules govern gambling advertisements, particularly those targeting youth audiences. In contrast, parts of Latin America and Asia maintain looser or inconsistent standards, allowing betting brands greater freedom to operate.
Publishers add another layer of complexity, as each company sets its own policies regarding the types of sponsorships permitted within its ecosystem. As a result, a team may be able to promote a betting sponsor in one title but not in another, or in one region but not on a global broadcast.
This regulatory patchwork requires careful compliance planning and legal oversight, which increases operational costs for teams and creates differentiated opportunities for betting companies willing to adapt.
Collaborations With Betting Brands
Esports and betting brands have reached a point where collaboration is no longer an exception but a standard element of the sponsorship landscape.
These partnerships span from jersey branding and event logos to deeper integration, such as multi-year funding agreements, custom tournament hosting and digital engagement campaigns.
The Sponsorship Landscape
Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2
Valve has built a reputation as the most betting-friendly publisher in esports. Counter-Strike has had ties to wagering since the days of CS:GO and Counter-Strike 2 has amplified those connections.
Valve does not impose restrictions on team partnerships, allowing organizations and event organizers to work freely with betting sponsors. This freedom has attracted high-value deals, making Counter-Strike 2 one of the most commercially viable ecosystems for iGaming brands.
Notable agreements illustrate the scale of these collaborations. FaZe Clan secured a multi-year contract with Rollbit, a crypto casino and trading platform, while Fnatic struck a seven-figure deal with Betify for its CS2 roster.
Dota 2 betting has followed a similar path. BetBoom, initially a betting operator, expanded into a full-fledged esports organization and event host, staging high-profile tournaments such as BetBoom Dacha.
League of Legends and Valorant
Riot Games has historically maintained stricter controls over sponsorship categories, but recently shifted its approach.
In 2025, the publisher began permitting Tier 1 League of Legends and VALORANT teams in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa to accept betting sponsors. This decision followed data indicating that global betting turnover for these titles exceeded 10 billion dollars in 2024.
Riot’s model emphasizes responsibility and consistency. All betting partners must undergo vetting and use GRID to power their esports offerings. Teams are required to establish internal integrity programs before entering into agreements.
Betting advertisements are excluded from Riot-owned broadcasts and official channels, and team jerseys remain gambling-free. These safeguards are designed to maintain trust while still opening revenue opportunities for partnered teams.
Call of Duty and Overwatch 2
Activision Blizzard has adopted a more conservative approach to betting sponsorships. In 2020, the publisher entered a multi-year integrity agreement with Sportradar to monitor both the Call of Duty League and the Overwatch League.
A year later, restrictions were eased to allow Call of Duty League teams to pursue partnerships with alcohol and gambling companies, leading to deals such as the London Royal Ravens’ sponsorship with Midnite, a UK-based esports betting platform.
Despite these steps, Activision Blizzard ultimately reaffirmed a cautious approach. Betting sponsors are now banned entirely across Call of Duty and Overwatch 2. This applies not only to official leagues, but also to grassroots competitions organized independently of them.
Teams connected to these titles must instead seek more traditional partners, such as hardware companies, gaming chair manufacturers and energy drink brands.
From Endemic to iGaming Sponsors
The transition from endemic to iGaming sponsors illustrates the evolution of esports as a commercial product. In its early years, competitive gaming leaned heavily on brands that were inherently tied to gaming culture.
Hardware manufacturers, such as Intel, and peripheral companies, like Razer, formed the backbone of sponsorship, while energy drinks like Monster Energy fueled visibility campaigns. These partners aligned naturally with esports, appealing to both players and fans with products they used daily.
Today, that foundation has shifted, and there are many open doors to betting sponsorships.
These are filling the space once occupied by endemic brands, and in many cases, offering more lucrative deals. This transition marks a turning point in how esports is funded. Rather than relying solely on products that appeal to gaming lifestyles, organizations now depend on financial partners whose core business lies outside of gaming.
The structural importance of iGaming demonstrates how far esports has matured as an industry and how sponsorship categories have diversified.
Integration into Esports Economy
What began as supplementary funding has grown into a core component of the esports economy. Betting sponsorships now underpin how organizations budget and stage events.
The capital from iGaming sponsors supports larger prize pools, more advanced production values and the recruitment of top-tier talent. Betting sponsors are no longer on the sidelines; they are embedded in the business model of competitive gaming.
This integration signals a structural change. The esports industry is not merely experiencing a temporary influx of gambling money; it is adapting to a sponsorship environment where iGaming is a foundational element.
For teams and publishers, the presence of betting brands ensures stability in a market that has historically been volatile. For fans, it shapes the way competitions are presented and the type of engagement opportunities available.
The collaborations between esports and betting brands, therefore, highlight both the adaptability of the industry and the influence of external stakeholders. As iGaming continues to grow, its role in competitive gaming is likely to deepen, reshaping how the industry is financed and how global audiences experience it.
What do Esports Sponsorships Mean for Gamers?
The rise of betting brands in esports sponsorship is more than a business story. For gamers, it impacts the way matches are presented, how communities interact and what the future of competitive gaming may hold. Fans are not passive observers in this shift; changes in sponsorship visibility, cultural dynamics and publisher policies directly impact them.
Understanding these implications is crucial to appreciating why the integration of betting brands matters on a personal level to individuals who engage with esports daily.
Explosive Growth in Esports Betting
The esports betting market has grown rapidly. In 2024, global turnover for League of Legends and the VALORANT Champions Tour surpassed 10.7 billion dollars, with nearly 70 percent of that total coming from unregulated operators. These numbers indicate both widespread participation and a growing normalization of betting within esports culture.
For fans, this means that gambling is becoming increasingly visible across their favorite games.
Betting logos now appear in streams, on jerseys and in tournament branding. Sponsorship deals also extend to social media, where players and teams promote their partnerships. What once seemed like a niche aspect of esports is becoming part of the mainstream presentation.
For older fans, this visibility may reinforce the sense that esports is entering a new stage of maturity. For younger fans, however, the overlap between gaming and gambling risks blurring the line between casual play and high-stakes wagering.
Policy Shifts by Riot Games
Publisher decisions directly affect what fans see, and Riot Games has become a central figure in shaping the visibility of betting sponsorships.
In 2025, Riot allowed Tier 1 League of Legends and VALORANT teams in select regions to partner with betting companies. The move introduced new revenue opportunities, but also came with strict conditions designed to protect fans.
Betting partners must be vetted and use GRID to power their offerings, ensuring data integrity. Teams are required to develop internal integrity programs before signing agreements. Gambling advertisements are prohibited from appearing on Riot’s official broadcasts and social channels, and team jerseys cannot feature betting logos.
These policies mean that fans will not encounter gambling promotions during official coverage, even if their favorite teams have sponsors in the background. For gamers, this creates a balance: betting brands are present, but carefully regulated to avoid overwhelming the community.
Fan Backlash and Ethical Concerns
Not every fan welcomes the increased visibility of betting sponsorships. Some communities, particularly around League of Legends and VALORANT, have voiced concerns about the risks associated with gambling exposure. Fears include the potential for increased problem gambling, the vulnerability of younger audiences and the possibility of match-fixing scandals.
These concerns are not unfounded. The digital nature of esports makes it easier than ever to place wagers through crypto wallets and online sportsbooks. Research from traditional sports suggests that higher visibility of gambling sponsorships correlates with greater underage participation, and esports communities often include a significant number of younger fans.
For gamers, this creates tension: the money generated by betting sponsors enhances the quality of events, but it also raises ethical questions about audience welfare.
As sponsorships expand, fans can expect the debate to continue. Some will celebrate the growth and stability that betting money provides, while others will call for stricter controls to protect vulnerable communities.
The outcome will shape how gamers experience esports for years to come, both in terms of what they see on screen and how they feel about the industry as a whole.
Looking Ahead at Esports Sponsorship
The growing role of betting brands in esports sponsorship has become one of the defining stories of the industry. Their partnerships provide teams with stability, events with larger budgets and fans with enhanced production quality. At the same time, they raise important questions about integrity, cultural fit and audience protection.
For gamers, these developments mean more polished tournaments, new interactive features and increased exposure to gambling content. The balance between opportunity and responsibility will determine how these sponsorships shape the future of competitive gaming.
Fans interested in esports sponsorship and betting brands should keep an eye on new partnerships, publisher policies and fan responses as the industry continues to mature.
Published: Sep 16, 2025 12:36 pm