Esports Growth & Player Protection
Esports appears to be entering a new era, driven by new investors and stakeholders interested in its development:
For its first edition, the “Esports World Cup,” hosted by Saudi Arabia, invested colossal sums in hosting the event, attracting publishers and esports clubs to several video games.
For their part, the organization of the Paris Games and the latest statements from the International Olympic Committee are gradually shaping an Olympic future for esports in sports simulation titles.
As key players in these events, esports players are rising to a professional level with considerable financial stakes. Like athletes, esports players face the challenges and challenges of competition, all within a digital context combining video games, social media, audiovisual content, and advertising.
As illustrated by Fortnite players “Wolfiez” and “Twisten”, the context exposes professional players, especially minors, to a risk of social isolation, pressure, online harassment from fans on social networks, and vision problems.
Esports Player: Employment of Minors in Esports Clubs
Esports players can be employed by clubs in several ways: internship agreements, volunteer charters, employment contracts, or service contracts.
In cases where the player has employee status, the employing club is legally required to ensure the health and safety of its workers through prevention, information, and training initiatives, incorporating the specificities of the activities concerned and the personnel used for this purpose.
Any failure or misconduct on its part incurs civil, criminal, or even administrative liability.
Esports players are minors. Child labor is prohibited in principle. Certain individual exemptions exist for specific activities: models, children in entertainment, actors, high-level athletes, and, more recently, influencers.
Child labor, however, is regulated more strictly than that of adults: measures are in place to protect the health, safety, education, or morality of the child. Compliance with these standards is primarily monitored by the labor inspectorate, with possible assistance from various organizations.
Due to a lack of information or awareness, underage players rarely take legal action to denounce their working conditions, which can amount to forms of forced labor or indentured servitude.
Underage esports employees. The esports employment contract, envisaged by the legislature in 2016, allows players under the age of 16 to work, subject to compliance with numerous player protection measures:
- The consent of the minor, their parents or legal representative, the labor inspectorate, etc.
- A prior medical examination is required to verify that the work poses no risk to the child’s physical, psychological, and mental health.
- The issuance of prefectural approval, etc.
Esports Player: The Risks of Video Games and Esports Competitions
Risks associated with video games. Observed for several years, particularly targeting children, video game publishers are incorporating into their games techniques derived from lotteries, online casinos, and other forms of gambling designed to retain players.
As a result, players are exposed to the risk of addiction or cyberdependency.
Public authorities are gradually taking action to address these risks.
In May 2024, the Dutch Consumer and Markets Authority fined Epic Games €1.1 million for encouraging children to purchase video game content through marketing strategies deemed illegal and aggressive commercial practices.
Risks associated with sports and competitions. The sports sector also carries a significant burden that can impact the health of players, which is perfectly applicable in sports: early separation from the family, pressure from those around them, from supporters, expectations of sponsors, interest from bettors, fear of missing out on one’s dreams, constant pressure for results and the burden of effort, etc.
Other pitfalls, such as esports betting—although prohibited by French law—or doping with pharmaceutical products, dietary supplements, or other potentially doping substances, and all the risks they present, are also at play.
Regular and intensive training sessions can also lead to endocrine and metabolic disorders, musculoskeletal, bone, and joint injuries, cardiovascular stress, and the risk of violence or assault.
Risks of screens. Massive screen consumption is a major societal issue, with some harmful consequences now known, in terms of sleep, a sedentary lifestyle, obesity, and vision, while others are not yet clearly identified.
Finally, minors are exposed to risks in terms of socio-emotional abilities, language development and exposure to forms of child crime, present in all digital spaces in which minors meet, including video games and associated forums.
Esports: players who are models, influencers, entrepreneurs
Professional esports players often participate in activities representing and promoting their employer club or partners at events, and in creating content on social media or other audiovisual media.
Consequently, child esports players are not only players but also actors, models, and influencers. They are therefore exposed to the risks associated with these activities: social media addiction, which can lead to self-deprecation, behavioral and eating disorders, anxiety, depression, isolation, suicidal tendencies, etc.
The exploitation of the image of child influencers creates risks of child pornography misuse or bullying at school.
These practices have given rise to recent legislation consolidating the role of those with parental authority and its potential oversight by civil courts.
Clubs, organizers: Who is responsible for the health of esports players?
The employing club. The employer, most often a club, will automatically be liable for the employed minor. The employment of a minor between the ages of 13 and 16 is subject to criminal penalties in the event of violation of a variety of information obligations, prior administrative authorizations, or mismanagement of funds collected for the benefit of the employed minor.
However, given the very cumbersome labor code, the majority of esports organizations prefer to employ their players as independent contractors, which has the direct consequence of reducing player protection, excluding the employer’s health and safety obligations.
Some recent decisions by French courts have allowed services to be reclassified as employment contracts, predicting significant legal uncertainty for the years to come.
The organizer of esports competitions. Organizers of esports events are responsible for the participation of minors in the event.
As such, it is bound by obligations relating to the prohibition of the participation of minors under the age of 12 in video game competitions offering monetary prizes, or relating to the requirement to obtain written authorization from the legal representatives of the minor who participated in such a competition.
New careers in esports. Today, several esports clubs are becoming aware of the issues associated with player health: they seek advice from former athletes, doctors, physical trainers, psychologists, and nutritionists.
Some clubs are less responsive, and in 2022, the Sao Paulo Labor Court fined an esports organization for the death of one of its players from a central nervous system infection. The esports club was held liable, as the investigation revealed numerous shortcomings in the management of player health.
Video Game Publishers & Parents: Another Responsibility of Esports Players
Parents. Those with parental authority are responsible for the protection of their children and are bound by a duty of supervision.
It is up to them to assess the appropriateness of allowing their child to play and participate in esports events and to authorize the minor to join an esports team.
The minor’s rewards, winnings, and salaries will be deposited with the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (Deposit and Consignment Fund), while legal guardians may only receive a limited portion of the amount received by the minor.
The publisher. Publishers are required to inform consumers and regulate the content of video games to protect minors, particularly through the PEGI classification.
The publisher’s liability could thus be incurred in the event of incorrect information regarding the place given to crime, violence, incitement to the use, possession or trafficking of narcotics, incitement to excessive consumption of alcohol as well as discrimination or hatred against a specific person or group of people.
The publisher also has a duty to moderate and control player behavior within the video game: their immediate liability may be incurred in the event of a priori monitoring of messages, while a posteriori monitoring implies a lack of prompt action upon becoming aware of the message in question.
Publisher control. Finally, the publisher has significant power to restrict and contractually control esports competitions, as their authorization is required for their organization. They may therefore impose sanctions in the event of a breach or non-compliance by organizers or competitors with their terms of use and operation.
Often used to ensure the integrity of competitions in the face of cheating or match-fixing, this disciplinary power has also been exercised in the context of player health.
A recent case led to the investigation of liability against the founder of an esports organization, accused of intimidation and harassment of his players.
Although the judicial investigation was unsuccessful, it was the publisher of the competition circuit in which the club participated who sentenced the latter to a contractual fine of €75,000 and a probationary period of 2 years.
