The Rise of Esports: The Current State of Esports, Its Impacts on Contract Law, Gambling, and Intellectual Property
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The Rise of Esports: The Current State
of Esports, Its Impacts on Contract
Law, Gambling, and Intellectual
Property
JUSTIN RONQUILLO*
I. INTRODUCTION
Gone are the days when playing video games meant booting up a game
of Pong on the old Atari systems or going to the local laundromat to play a
game of Ms. Pac-Man. Today, video games are played anywhere, at any
time, all around the world. Video games are a multi-billion-dollar industry
in the United States alone.1 With streaming platforms like Twitch.tv and
YouTube Gaming increasing concurrent viewership numbers annually,2 it is
evident that consuming video game content as entertainment is not just a fad,
it is the norm. This is the driving force behind esports' rise.
Esports is the term for competitive video games. Participation in-
cludes both competing in a video game, as well as game viewership for en-
tertainment purposes. At its core, esports draws similarities to traditional
sports (i.e. basketball, football, baseball, etc.) where skilled competitors play
against each other in live matches supported by devoted spectators, fans, and
sponsors. Although the industry is still considered in its infancy, esports has
already shown remarkable growth.3 Global esports revenue was expected to
reach $905.6 million by the end of 2018.4 The global esports audience is
expected to have reached 380.2 million by 2018, while the number of people
who are aware of esports is estimated around 1.6 billion.5
This article focuses on esports' rise and its impacts on the legal field.
Part II will discuss the current state of esports, such as how it generates
* Justin Ronquillo graduated with a degree in Political Science from University of Nevada Las
Vegas in 2013, and completed law school with an Intellectual Property and Technology Law Certificate
from University of San Francisco School of Law in 2018.
1. Kevin Anderton, The Business Of Video Games: A Multi Billion Dollar Industy [Infographic], FORBES
(Apr. 29, 2017), https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinanderton/2017/04/29/the-business-of-video-
games-a-multi-billion-dollar-industry-infographic/#63727e96d27 [https://perma.cc/233M-V8JZ].
2. See Sarah Perez, YouTube Gaming Grew its Streamer Base by 343% in 2017, Twitch by 197%,
TECHCRUNCH (Jan. 25, 2018), https://techcrunch.com/2018/O1/25/youtube-gaming-grew-its-
streamer-base-by-343-in-2017-twitch-by-197/ [https://perma.cc/Z4PB-6M5Y].
3. See Luke Christou, Esports Growth Continues As Total Indus-toy Revenue Hits $1.5bn in 2017,
VERDICT (Dec. 12, 2017), https://www.verdict.co.uk/esports-growth-revenue/ [https://perma.cc/
6JWB-LRZB].
4. Jurre Pannekeet, ewZoo 2018 Global Esports Market Report, 21 (2018), https://asociacionem-
presarialesports.es/wp-content/uploads/newzoo_2018_global esports market.report excerpt.pdf
[https://perma.cc/6FB9-77Q8].
5. Id. at 20.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/iprop23&div=16&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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The Rise of Esports: The Current State of Esports, Its Impacts on Contract Law, Gambling, and Intellectual Property
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