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Although people in the gaming industry often highlight casino gaming as the most significant individual influence on the transformation of the broader industry, there’s a strong case you could make for League of Legends (LoL) being the most significant influence since the early 2010s.

We’re not just talking about gambling markets here; there’s also the rise of Mobile Legends, the incredible prize pools involved in League of Legends, and the incredible viewership it brings in globally. Its influence has been so impactful that it has resulted in multiple gaming sectors shifting their focus to mobile gaming capabilities; overall, the impact has been enormous.

Examining The Betting Markets

Although the fabric of gaming has shifted because of the incredible influence of League of Legends, if we’re talking about derivative markets, then the two highest-grossing ones are eSports and betting. As soon as it became a viable professional gaming market and quickly established itself as one of the biggest eSports tournaments, the money it generated surprised many people within the sector, even those who thought that the initial predictions undershot its actual valuation.

As with any professional market or a form of entertainment that commands a global audience of millions, it wasn’t long before the initial success of League of Legends eSports in the early 2010s led to betting markets emerging to complement this newfound market. League of Legends betting odds, even at a glance, showcase just how much of a market now exists in this market.

It’s an incredible change from the early days of online sports betting odds, where, aside from the world’s most popular conventional sports, niche markets were not explored at all by gambling platforms. Once LoL started to shine a light on how much potential was out there, a raft of betting markets soon followed.

While it wouldn’t be fair to say that LoL has done all of this heavy lifting on its own, and the emergence of Counter-Strike 2, Valorant, and Fortnite have all helped to inject even more value into the global eSports market – League Of Legends was the first game to truly higlight just how much profit there was in this burgeoning sector.

Microtransactions & In-Game Purchases

The rise of online gaming posed a challenge for home video console games, which had become a dominant force in the gaming world. Games like Grand Theft Auto have often been noted as one of the most influential and successful gaming franchises of all time.

Still, the rise of LoL in the late 2000s posed the question for them – could they also charge one-off fees for in-game transactions rather than relying on the story mode and free-roam gaming that had already served them so well throughout the noughties?

Rockstar adapted and noted this trend far quicker than their competition. They have leant into multiple digital innovations, such as gaming mods for GTA V and in-game rewards in their online features, which help to generate a consistent revenue stream.

Although LoL wasn’t the first game to use microtransactions, it was the first mobile game that truly showed how much potential existed within this new niche of the global gaming industry. The blueprint continues to work for mobile gaming companies and those home video console games that have a key focus on online gaming.

Some games, like GTA, are becoming more aggressive with their microtransactions, which will inevitably cause them to fall out of favor at some point. Still, LoL was the first game to truly demonstrate the potential that could be achieved when executed correctly.

Shifting To A Mobile Gaming Focus

Again, another hugely influential element of LoL was that it inspired game designers to start looking at the potential of mobile gaming technology. Casino gaming companies began pouring millions of dollars into slot game designs, mainly to ensure that they catered to slot gamers who played on both their smartphones and tablets.

This appetite continued to move into other genres, though. The rise of free-to-play chess games and 8-ball pool is also a testament to how the gaming market was drifting toward an increasingly mobile audience. If there were one game that resulted in mass gaming adoption, it would’ve been the incredible success of Wordle in 2022.

Mobile Legends has also captured global gaming attention, too. While few people would disagree in 2025 that it is now the most popular eSports league, this does not come without controversy, especially for fans of the original LoL, who believe the game has taken too much influence from the original Riot Games classic that was released in 2009. It has resulted in Riot Games being sued multiple times for copyright infringement.

While they will be hurting in the pocket, there is also the age-old saying, “imitation is the greatest form of flattery,” and the success of Mobile Legends, along with the inspiration it has drawn from LoL, is a testament to just how influential it has become. It remains integral in the success of eSports and other derivative markets and seminal in establishing mobile gaming as a genuine force within the traditional gaming industry.