Disclosure: Sheep Esports is sponsored by Winamax, which will also become a new sponsor of G2 Esports, as discussed in this article.
Winamax officially becomes a sponsor of G2 Esports exclusively for the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC). The sponsor will be allowed only on G2’s co-streams and content; it will not appear on the team’s jerseys or on the official LEC broadcast.
G2 Esports has already been sponsored by esports betting–affiliated websites in the past. Even for 2026, the organization has reached a
deal with Betpanda for its Counter-Strike team. However, Winamax will be the first betting sponsor associated with G2’s League of Legends team, making G2 the first team in the LEC to do so—though likely not the last. This has been made possible by a recent agreement between Riot Games and Winamax.
Riot Games and Esports betting
In 2025,
Riot Games allowed betting sponsors on
LoL and
VALORANT, but no betting sites had joined
LoL yet, as it requires approval from Riot Games. Last November, 1xBet got approved only in South America and became a sponsor of MIBR in VCT Americas; now it’s Winamax turn in the LEC, who found a deal with Riot Games this year.
According to our sources, other betting websites are currently in discussions with Riot Games to reach deals allowing teams in other Tier 1 leagues to have betting sponsorships. Additionally, Winamax’s deal with Riot Games for the LEC and VCT EMEA is non-exclusive, meaning other betting websites could reach similar agreements and sponsor teams in Tier 1 League of Legends and VALORANT competitions.
Other betting sponsors may therefore continue to enter Riot Games’ esports ecosystem, but they must first secure a deal with Riot Games before sponsoring a team. As previously communicated, even though betting sponsors remain prohibited in Tier 2, “the overall program will support the growth and advancement of our Tier 2 esports teams.”
One reason betting partners must reach agreements directly with Riot Games is that teams “must use GRID to power their offerings, ensuring consistency, integrity, and accountability across the board.”
GRID is Riot Games’ official data provider partner, in which Riot has acquired an equity stake. Winamax will therefore have to go through GRID to provide its odds.
Eight co-streamers for G2 in 2026
The LEC will feature
45 co-streamers for LEC Versus, 24 of whom are directly affiliated with teams. Among these 24 co-streamers, eight are aligned with G2: Luca “Brizz” Brizzante, Maya “Caltys” Henckel, Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski, Rosendo “Send0o” Fuentes, Willy “Skyyart” Dias, Nico “Sola” Linke, Jean “Trayton” Medzadourian, and Kim “Wadid” Bae-in.
Since betting partnerships will not be displayed directly on the official LEC broadcast, co-streamers become a major point of attraction for advertising these products. However, it is worth noting that in that not all co-streamers from G2 Esports will be affiliated with Winamax.
What About Responsibility?
This partnership should always be approached with care and transparency.
Here are the legal disclaimers Winamax partners are required to include in all messaging — and which we fully support beyond simple compliance:
- Betting is strictly forbidden to minors.
- Playing involves risks: debt, isolation, and addiction.
