Riot Games Names Stake-Owned Kick Official Esports Broadcaster, Year After Lifting Betting Sponsor Ban

According to Riot Games, the company on June 26 named Kick, a streaming platform co-owned by crypto casino Stake founders Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani, as an official broadcaster for League of Legends, VALORANT, and Teamfight Tactics esports tournaments, effective June 28 with the Mid-Season Invitational.

The deal marks a sharp reversal from Riot's long-standing stance on gambling partners. In June 2025, roughly a year prior, Riot lifted its ban on betting sponsors for Tier 1 teams in the Americas and EMEA regions, citing $10.7 billion in annual wagering activity around the titles. However, Riot maintained a firm restriction: betting logos remain barred from official broadcasts. Stake-sponsored Team Vitality displays a French retailer's name instead of the Stake brand on League jerseys during official streams, a constraint that now creates an irony—Kick, Riot's new official broadcaster, is itself owned by the very crypto casino whose logo it prohibits from televised play.