Riot Games (Riot), the publisher of hugely popular games such as League of Legends and Valorant, has now launched its own esports dispute resolution process (DRP). This is a significant step for Riot and the esports industry. The esports industry has, like traditional sports, faced numerous issues arising between teams and players, however, there has never been a uniform approach to resolving disputes. Instead, teams and players were redirected to national employment courts or tribunals, which has proven financially burdensome, logistically difficult, and leading to non-homogenous outcomes. Riot hopes that this new DRP will tackle these challenges; centralising and harmonising the adjudicatory process across various jurisdictions in a manner that is easily accessible, fair, and efficient.   

How it works

The new DRP is open to players, coaches, and teams in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region participating in Tier 1 and Tier 2 League of Legends and Valorant esport leagues. This covers the LEC, VCT, EMEA and Regional Leagues/Challenger Leagues which include over 200 teams and around 1,500 players. The scope of disputes that can be resolved includes unpaid salaries, bonuses, prize money, and player transfers. As the new DRP is only being launched in EMEA for the time being, it is possible that Riot sees it as a pilot for a centralised DRP across its regions. 

Commencing a dispute

Prior to commencing formal proceedings, the parties will have a 60-day negotiation period to try and resolve the dispute. If the dispute remains unresolved then Riot or the parties can request that it be submitted for arbitration. One party must file its claim (the other party may also file a counterclaim), after which both parties will file written submissions. 

The DRP will involve an independent arbitrator (the full list of independent arbitrators is available here) who will decide on the outcome following a single round of written submissions by the parties without a hearing. Riot has appointed a law firm to act as secretariat in the process and appoint independent arbitrators. The players and teams wishing to use the dispute resolution process will need to pay a fee to pursue their claim. A handling fee of €500-€4,000 (depending on the size of the claim) will need to be paid by the claimant to start the process as well as an arbitrator’s fee of €1,000 – €5,000. These costs are significantly cheaper than going through national courts or less specialised arbitral bodies. 

Costs of using the dispute resolution process

Notably, Riot has set up a legal aid fund for those who do not have sufficient financial means to bring a claim via their DRP. Legal aid will only be available to individuals and only in the following circumstances: (1) the dispute value is under €6,000 and (2) the individual’s annual salary is below €30,000. 

Individuals who do not meet these eligibility criteria but otherwise still believe they should be entitled to legal aid can submit a case for consideration to Riot, with a final decision being at the secretariat’s discretion. Whilst the size of the fund is not known, Riot has confirmed that its availability will cease each year once it has been depleted. 

Decision-making 

The arbitrator will resolve the dispute ex aequo et bono (according to the right and good). Accordingly, they will make a decision on what they consider to be the fair outcome. Riot has issued the applicable arbitral rules to be followed by the parties throughout the proceedings. 

In an effort to streamline the DRP, the decisions will not include any reasoning. Decisions will be final and binding with no opportunity to appeal. 

Enforcement 

The DRP is confidential (including details of the dispute and submissions) up until its conclusion. Once the decision has been issued to the parties, it is also published on Riot’s website.  

If a party ordered to pay damages or costs refuses to do so within the stipulated timeframe,  the successful party can either go seek enforcement by a national court or request that Riot enforce the decision in line with the Global Esports Code of Conduct. 

Riot’s ability to enforce decisions again streamlines the process by providing a cheaper and faster enforcement route. Moreover, Riot will have the ability to directly limit access to its services (i.e., League of Legends or Valorant) without the need of a third party being involved. 

Key takeaways 

The introduction of Riot’s DRP is groundbreaking in the esports industry. By establishing an independent arbitration system, it signals that Riot considers the industry, in which it is a major player, to be sufficiently robust and mature to warrant a system which is no longer entirely in its control. 

Whereas the use of ex aequo et bono and the lack of written reasoning will limit the precedential value of published decisions, players, coaches, and teams will nevertheless be afforded the opportunity to resolve disputes under a uniform set of rules and with affordable costs across EMEA. 

It may still be some time before we see a fully-fledged ‘Court of Arbitration for Esports’ dealing with disputes across the entire industry. But it will be interesting to see whether any other esports publishers/developers (e.g. Blizzard, Valve, Epic Games) will follow suit with establishing an independent dispute resolution system, or rather observe Riot’s efforts before investing themselves.