Riot's 2026 code of conduct: what it asks of LoL and Valorant players

A professional who plays League of Legends or Valorant in a Riot Games competition signs up to two sets of rules at once. The first is the rulebook of the league or the event: how a match is played, how a pause is called, how a roster is registered. The second follows the player everywhere, from the stage to a private message: the Riot Games Esports Global Code of Conduct, the single conduct text the publisher applies across all of its titles. Its 2026 edition carries a last revision date of December 17, 2025.

The text reaches further than any single ruling shows: it covers what a player says on a stream, how a player uses a ranked account, conduct from before a player joined a Riot competition, and illegal activity that has not led to any conviction. This guide sets out who the code binds and where, what each group of its 24 conduct rules covers, how Riot handles a suspected breach, how long it has to act, which sanctions it can impose and how the text itself is changed.

Riot Games Esports Global Code of Conduct, 2026 edition, last revised December 17, 2025.

Who the code binds

The code is addressed to what it calls Esports Professionals. Its definitions section names professional and semi-professional players, coaches, trainers, team managers, team owners and other team representatives, along with any other esports professional registered with Riot or with one of its competitions, and teams themselves. Riot's February 2024 announcement of the global code already named professional and semi-professional players, so a player in a regional or second-tier league stands under the same text as a player at an international event.

Nobody has to sign the code as a separate contract. Article 2.2 lists three ways it becomes binding: signing a contract or registration form in which the code is incorporated, linked, referenced or attached; clicking "Accept" in an online registration process, or accepting it by a similar method; or taking part in any professional or semi-professional esports event that features competitive play of a Riot title. A signature is therefore not always needed.

Teams carry their own share. Article 3.1 makes each team that competes in a Riot competition responsible for ensuring the compliance of its professionals, and Article 5.11 allows a team to be disciplined for the conduct of its people. The same article says owners, coaches, managers and others in positions of authority may be held to a higher standard of conduct.

Which games, events and places it covers

Article 1.4 defines a Riot esports competition as one featuring League of Legends, Valorant, League of Legends: Wild Rift, Teamfight Tactics, Legends of Runeterra or any other title or event Riot owns or operates. The code is therefore not a League of Legends text or a Valorant text: the same numbered articles apply to a professional in the Valorant Champions Tour, known as the VCT, and to one in a League of Legends regional league.

Within those games, Article 3.2 reaches beyond the matches. It covers qualifiers, regular season and pre- and post-season play, with all-star games, invitational tournaments and world championship series given as examples, and any other official competition or public event with competitive play that Riot sanctions. It also covers the events leading up to and immediately following a competition: promotional events, press conferences, free agency, prize ceremonies and trophy lifts, and opening and closing ceremonies.

Time and place are both wide. Under Article 3.3, the code covers breaches committed during a Riot competition even when the person concerned is no longer involved by the time an investigation begins. It can reach conduct from before a professional joined a Riot competition when that conduct is particularly egregious or happened repeatedly over time; the code's own example is a coach who fixed matches before being hired by a team. It also reaches former professionals after they leave, when the conduct relates to obligations from their time in the ecosystem or could jeopardize the integrity of a competition, such as leaking information they had access to or asking current professionals to fix a match.

Article 3.4 says the code applies wherever Riot competitions are held, in person and online. It can also reach conduct at third-party events and away from any tournament, private messages and social media included, when that conduct could harm the ecosystem or be associated with Riot.

How the text came to be

In its February 6, 2024 announcement, Riot said it had begun in 2022 to streamline its rules on conduct into one cohesive code, and that the global code came into effect on January 1, 2024. The announcement described the new text as largely consistent with the earlier principles, redrafted for greater clarity and transparency.

The 2025 edition, presented by Riot's Competitive Operations team on December 16, 2024, added a dedicated definitions section, allowed Riot to hold professionals accountable for relatives and affiliates who contribute to a match-fixing, manipulation or gambling breach, allowed Riot-sanctioned Pick'ems contests with no rewards of monetary or real-world value, and made failure to follow decisions of the Dispute Resolution body a sanctionable offense. That body, Dispute Resolution for Riot Games' Esports (EMEA), launched in 2024, and the 2026 edition still names it in Article 5.2. The note on the 2025 changes quoted Audrey Cech, Riot's Global Head of Esports Rules and Compliance.

The 2026 edition keeps those article numbers and is organized in six parts: definitions, background and purpose, the application of the code, the conduct rules of Article 4, the investigations and consequences of Article 5, and the other rules and changes of Article 6.

Conduct in the match and at the venue

The first group of rules concerns how a professional behaves in competition. Article 4.1 sets the general duties: the highest standards of personal integrity and sporting conduct at all times, and respect for competitors, coaches, referees, tournament administrators, the media, sponsors, fans and other persons. Professionals must follow the decisions of officials first, and any objection or concern is raised through the appropriate channels after compliance. Riot or its affiliates may also require educational or training programs, which must be completed to their satisfaction.

Article 4.2 is a short ban on intentional underperformance. Professionals must compete to the best of their ability in every Riot competition.

Article 4.3 bans cheating and also enabling or helping others to cheat. Its examples include hacks, the exploitation of bugs and viewing a live feed of the game.

Article 4.4 protects the studio: professionals may not interfere with the lights, cameras or other studio equipment used at live events, and may not block the integrations of official sponsors.

Article 4.5 deals with communication during a game. Unauthorized in-match communication, coaching included, is barred, and where communication is allowed, professionals use only Riot-approved headsets and software.

Article 4.6 lets Riot sanction a professional who registered or agreed to take part in an event and then drops out or refuses to play without the approval of an official. Article 4.7 bars the illegal possession or use of drugs or alcohol, and being impaired at events. Prescription drugs may be used only to treat the condition for which they were prescribed, never to improve performance.

What players say, on stage and online

The second group covers words and behavior toward others, and it explicitly follows professionals onto social media and streams. Article 4.8 bars derogatory or hateful acts and expressions aimed at people for characteristics such as race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, among the others it lists. Article 4.9 adds a broader ban on communication that is obscene, vulgar, provocative, hateful, racist, insulting, threatening, abusive, libelous, slanderous, defamatory or otherwise offensive or objectionable. Both articles apply on social media and on streams.

Article 4.10 bans harassment, defined as unwelcome and unwanted behavior that diminishes, demeans or otherwise intimidates. Harassment is judged from the point of view of an objective observer. Stalking, threats of violence and sharing another person's personal information without permission are all named as forms of it.

Article 4.11 bans bullying and abuse. Bullying is malicious conduct that an objective observer would see as hostile and offensive and unrelated to legitimate competition; abuse involves cruelty or violence, especially when it is repeated. Article 4.12 bars threats: a stated intention to commit violence or take other hostile action against someone in retribution.

Money, competition and conflicts of interest

The third group protects the integrity of results. Article 4.13 bans bribery in both directions, giving and receiving. The other party can be another professional, a team, a tournament official, a government official or any other person, and a thing of value may include loans, digital and physical goods and professional services.

Article 4.14 bans fixing or manipulating a match. An attempt counts as a breach even when it fails, and failing to cooperate with a match-fixing investigation may be sanctioned like the act itself. Teams can be sanctioned for the conduct of their owners, players, coaches and employees, and a professional can be held liable for relatives, such as spouses, family, friends, colleagues or partners, and for affiliates such as agents and representatives.

Article 4.15, the gambling rule, bars professionals from betting on competitions they take part in, or acting in a way that raises suspicion that they did, from gambling on Riot titles or enabling others to do so, and from holding interests in betting or lottery businesses tied to esports. The 2026 text counts staking digital assets as gambling, and it covers platforms that let users trade on outcomes such as roster changes, however the activity or the platform is described or marketed.

Its neighbor, Article 4.16, bans taking part in any season-long, tournament-long or daily fantasy contest tied to a Riot competition that awards anything of real-world value, and owning any interest in a company that runs such contests. Riot-sanctioned Pick'ems and Riot's Shotcall contests remain open to professionals, as long as they are not connected to any opportunity to make money or win prizes of real-world value.

Article 4.17 covers conflicts of interest. The code's own example is the owner of one team who has lent a significant sum of money to another team and then faces it in a match.

Honesty, authority and confidential information

A fourth group concerns how professionals deal with Riot, with each other and with information. Article 4.18 bans false information, forgery and falsification. It names tax forms, registration forms and parental consent forms, along with any other document or content, and it adds malicious false reports against others and the impersonation of another person or entity.

Article 4.19 targets the abuse of position by owners, coaches, managers and others in charge. It names conduct that endangers a player's starting position as an example of the harm it covers. The article draws a clear line: the promotion and demotion of starting players and the proper use of authority are not abuse. Article 4.20 then bans retaliation against anyone who reports a possible breach in good faith or gives truthful information to an investigation.

Article 4.21 lists the confidential information a professional may see: team lineups, team strategy, results of pre-recorded matches broadcast later, embargoed information and information learned during investigations or disciplinary proceedings. Professionals may not use it, leak it or ask for it for any purpose other than competing.

The last conduct rules before the one on accounts reach furthest into a professional's life outside the game. Article 4.22 bans any activity that is immoral, disgraceful or contrary to conventional standards of proper ethical or sporting behavior. Article 4.23 bars illegal activity that is under investigation or has resulted in formal charges, whether or not a conviction has occurred, when it could harm Riot's reputation, authority or brand, or the operation of a competition.

Account sharing and boosting

Article 4.24, the last conduct rule, connects the code to the Riot Games Terms of Service that every player accepts to play, and it singles out two practices for an outright ban: account sharing and boosting.

Account sharing means playing on another player's account, or soliciting, inducing, encouraging or directing someone else to do so. Boosting means getting around ranked matchmaking to raise the MMR, the hidden matchmaking rating, of an account. The article lists what that covers: giving someone access to one's own account or Riot ID to raise its rating, accessing another player's account to raise theirs, offering or asking to raise a rating, promising or receiving anything of value tied to a rating, queuing with another player in order to raise either account's rating, and any other attempt to circumvent matchmaking to raise one.

Article 5.10 closes a related gap: using another game account or Riot ID to get around a suspension, a disqualification or a ban is itself a breach.

How a case is handled

Article 5 sets out what happens once a possible breach comes to light. Article 5.1 covers reporting, and it protects those who get it wrong: "Honest but mistaken reports do not violate this Code." Riot may in turn refer matters to law enforcement and similar bodies, and the code names INTERPOL and NCMEC among them.

Cooperation is an obligation, not a courtesy. Under Article 5.2, professionals must cooperate with investigations, and failing to comply with the rulings of Riot or of an entity it recognizes, such as Dispute Resolution for Riot Games' Esports (EMEA), may itself be sanctioned. Riot may draw an adverse inference from a failure to cooperate, meaning it may read the silence against the person concerned.

Article 5.6 allows interim measures, including the suspension of the individuals involved, while a case is open and until a final decision. During a competition, Article 5.13 adds that decisions taken by a referee or another official are final and binding.

Riot's time to act is limited too, by Article 5.3. The clock runs from the conduct, or for in-game matters from the end of the final game or match, to the day the breach is discovered. The limits are subject to exceptions where Riot determines that particularly egregious conduct has occurred.

Two details stretch these periods. The start of an investigation by Riot or its designee suspends the clock, and for conduct that went on over time, the period runs from the day of the last instance.

Sanctions and how they are decided

Article 5.4 lists twelve types of sanction. They run from a private or public warning to the suspension or termination of a Riot game account. In between come fines, for which teams may be held jointly liable; forfeiture and return of prizes; restrictions or bans on entering a venue; the forfeit of a game, a match or a tournament; a replayed game or match; loss of league, circuit or ranking points; suspension, disqualification or a ban from one or more Riot competitions; a change of venue; limits on a team's acquisition of new players; and an event played without fans or spectators. Fines may be withheld from prize winnings or other payments to the team, or deducted from future ones.

A ruling may also require corrective action under Article 5.5, such as sensitivity, media or anti-harassment training, and failing to carry it out is a new breach. Article 5.7 says sanctions can apply even when the behavior does not meet the severity, pervasiveness or evidentiary standards the law would require for unlawful activity, and Article 5.8 lets repeated or multiple concurrent breaches count as aggravating circumstances. Under Article 5.10, attempts are punishable, infringements count whether committed deliberately or negligently, and the code reaches the person whether they acted as principal, accomplice or instigator.

Some jurisdictions publish a chart of offenses and sanctions, called a Penalty Index. Article 5.12 says any such chart is provided for illustrative purposes only: Riot makes the final decision on the sanction.

Article 5.14 makes Riot's determination final and binding. In reaching it, Riot may weigh the context, earlier breaches, seriousness, aggravating and mitigating factors, the level of cooperation, the need to deter others and the best interests of the ecosystem. The same article preserves any mandatory rights or remedies a professional has under local law, so what is open after a decision depends on the country and the case. Article 5.15 lets Riot publish its decisions at its sole discretion.

How the code changes and which version counts

Riot may amend the code, and Article 6.3 sets the notice period: "These changes take effect thirty days after their publication or notification by email." A professional who does not accept a change may withdraw from Riot competitions, and the change then has no effect on them; continuing to take part after it takes effect counts as acceptance.

Article 6.1 makes the code one of the User Rules referenced in the Terms of Service, in addition to the obligations those terms already set, and applies several of their sections to the code, governing law and dispute resolution among them. Where the two texts conflict, the provision most protective of the Riot esports ecosystem prevails.

Article 6.2 applies the same rule to tournament participation and other written agreements with Riot or its affiliates, except where such a contract has its own provisions on a rules violation dispute: those then prevail to the extent of the conflict. Professionals may also have to accept additional terms from a tournament organizer, Riot or a local Riot affiliate, including tournament-specific or game-specific rules, which is where a league rulebook comes in.

Article 6.4 settles language. The code is written in English, translations are not official, and where the English version and a translation conflict, the English version governs unless applicable law provides otherwise.

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