Riot has not confirmed any official deals with operators as yet, but did say it was evaluating the potential value prediction markets could bring, while considering any risks.

“Prediction markets are an emerging space that we’re evaluating with a focus on safeguarding competitive integrity, potential value for teams, impact on the fan experience, and alignment with our broader ecosystem goals,” Riot Games spokesperson Joe Hixson told Bloomberg.

Neither Polymarket nor Kalshi confirmed that discussions have taken place. Both companies have been highly active in acquiring partners in the US.

In esports, Polymarket already has a deal with BLAST and GRID, which supplies it with official Riot Games data. Bloomberg reported that any prediction market sponsor approved by Riot would be required to obtain official betting data through GRID.

Approved gambling companies must source their match data exclusively through GRID to prevent match-fixing and data corruption.

This week, GRID launched its own betting service, GRID Odds, which offers clients accurate data-driven pricing, a wide range of markets, from match and map winner to player props, and in-round betting.

The prices on prediction markets are set by users (or market makers) rather than the platform, so it is unclear if GRID would supply part of this service to prediction markets.

While Kalshi and Polymarket are blocked in the UK, the country is in discussions to relax its rules.This could allow users to access sites that offer everything from esports to crypto and election markets.

Unlicensed companies may still do deals with esports teams, but the government is considering tightening its rules. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) launched a review of unlicensed gambling sponsors in July.

Primarily, the DCMS is concerned with Premier League sponsorships, where several clubs have deals with gambling companies that do not hold UK licenses.