Oh boy, did you hear about this? Team Heretics’ VALORANT sensation, Benjamin “Benjyfishy” Fish, just got hit with a warning from Riot Games! And it’s all because he decided to place a bet during the League of Legends World Championship finals.
The ruling came down just weeks before Riot opened the floodgates for betting sponsorships in esports. Talk about timing, am I right?
According to an official ruling, Benjyfishy self-reported his little gambling adventure shortly after realizing what he’d done. He placed and won €100 in the World final match between T1 and Bilibili Gaming, cha-ching! But it gets sticky here: placing that wager breaks section 3.15 of Riot’s Global Code of Conduct.
This section clearly states that “Esports Professionals” can’t engage in any gambling activities related to games owned by Riot. Oops! Thankfully for him, Riot considered some mitigating factors when deciding on his punishment.
The fact that Benjyfishy reported himself and cooperated fully helped soften the blow. Plus, he even offered to donate part of his winnings to charity! How cool is that? They also noted that since he bet on a game and region outside his competitive play area, there wasn’t much risk to VALORANT’s integrity.
Ultimately, he received a warning and an undisclosed fine imposed on Team Heretics. Oh, man! Could you imagine being fined over something like this? So wild!
But wait, there’s more! Just as this drama unfolded, Riot confirmed earlier this week that partnered VALORANT and League teams will soon be allowed to explore partnerships with betting companies! An official statement clarifies that while team jerseys can’t sport any gambling branding yet (thank goodness!), potential partners will need approval from Riot first.
