Riot issued a stern warning to Valorant star benjyfishy; here’s why

In a scary moment for the star, Riot Games has issued a strong warning to Valorant player Benjy “benjyfishy” Fish over esports betting.

Riot Games recently revealed that partnered League of Legends and Valorant esports teams will soon be able to take betting industry sponsors. However, this does not mean that any form of gambling is permitted for esports players, at least within Riot titles. A recent ruling against pro player benjyfishy reinforces Riot’s firm stance on banning gambling among pro players.

According to the document shared by Riot, benjyfishy’s own team management informed Riot Games of his gambling at the LoL World Championship. The amount won is comparatively small, but that doesn’t diminish the seriousness of the violation.

What did benjyfishy do?

benjyfishy was issued a warning by Riot Games for betting on the outcome of the 2024 League of Legends World Championships finals.

Riot Games fined Team Heretics due to benjyfishy’s involvement in gambling on the match between T1 and Bilibili Gaming. T1 won the event, despite star player Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok dealing with illness throughout the event. The pro player received a warning since he cooperated with Riot during the investigation.

The warning was issued before Riot’s new ruling regarding betting partners. However, pro players are still required to adhere to a code of conduct that prohibits gambling. benjyfishy violated code 3.15 of the rulebook, which explicitly states that pro players may not “engage in any legal or illegal gambling activities involving any video game title owned by Riot Games.”

This rule is despite the fact that benjyfishy was betting on matches unrelated to his team, and outside his own esport. There is no indication from any of the parties involved that this betting impacted the integrity of benjyfishy’s playing. This isn’t an uncommon rule, however. Many traditional sports leagues ban players from sports betting of any kind.

According to reports, benjyfishy won only 100 Euros from the betting, which is not a particularly great amount. However, Riot has issued a lighter punishment for different reasons. When evaluating the case, the developer considered several factors, including benjyfishy’s full cooperation and transparency during the investigation.

benjyfishy’s self-report also helped his case in terms of his punishment. The pro player had informed his team management of the betting, which ultimately then passed this along to Riot Games. The developer also said that the pro player showed remorse for violating the code of conduct. He also volunteered to donate the amount he won to charity.

All of this has resulted in lighter punishment, as betting offenses typically lead to suspension. Riot previously suspended former Arcade Esports Valorant players RYRY and LAM for violating gambling restrictions in Riot’s code of conduct.