Article co-written by Mr. Jérome Huet, Professor Emeritus at the University of Paris II, former director of CEJEM and Pierre-Xavier Chomiac de Sas, PCS Lawyer.
Esports & video game competition: an autonomous legal framework
Recently regulated by the Law of October 7, 2016, for a Digital Republic, in Articles 101 and 102, as a “video game competition,” what is commonly called esports is not classified as a sport. However, the legal framework established by the legislature largely incorporates existing provisions from sports law.
In the context of the work surrounding the Law for a Digital Republic, much of the legal community debated the appropriateness of classifying esports under sports law. While it may appear, at first glance, to be related to the concept of sport for seemingly semantic reasons, esports is in fact incompatible with the legal criteria defining a sporting activity.
Regulation of esports competitions and protection of esports players
Balancing legal considerations with stakeholder expectations, the legislature opted for the establishment of an independent legal framework. In this context, the Law for a Digital Republic of October 7, 2016, established a separate regulatory framework for video game competitions, while ensuring the protection of players through labor law.
Read the full article in the LexisNexis E-commerce Communication journal – July/August 2017.
For more information on esports and its legal issues, click here.
