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27 J. Legal Aspects Sport 46 (2017)
The Future Is Now: Esports Policy Considerations and Potential Litigation

handle is hein.journals/jlas27 and id is 46 raw text is: Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport, 2017, 27, 46-78 https://doi.org/10.1123/Jlas.2016-0018 Human Kinetics VZS @ 2017 Human Kinetics, Inc. ORIGINAL RESEARCH The Future Is Now: Esports Policy Considerations and Potential Litigation John T. Holden Anastasios Kaburakis Florida State University Saint Louis University Ryan Rodenberg Florida State University Competitive video gaming is rapidly gaining mainstream attention. Major U.S. television networks have commenced broadcasting such competitions. The term esports has been assigned to the practice, but it remains to be seen whether lawmakers and regulators agree that the contests are indeed sports. This paper provides a comprehensive examination, analysis, and application of the tests that have previously been used to determine whether an activity is a sport. We illustrate potential streams of litigation, some of which are specific to activities classified as sport. The emergence of esports in the United States has highlighted the absence of a legal definition of sport. Be it the newest form of sport or not, esports afford a glimpse to the future of creative competition, business innovation, and the related legal, policy, and litigation implications emerging alongside this new (sporting or otherwise competitive) activity. Keywords: esports law; competitive sport tests application; gambling policy, skins wagering and corruption prevention; gaming litigation forecast Competitive video gaming has become one of the quickest-growing segments of the entertainment industry.1 Esports, as the practice of competitive video gaming has been named, is a term that represents a variety of different game types and game titles.2 Deloitte estimated that esports would generate global revenues of $500 million in 2016, increasing by 25% in ensuing years.3 Projections extending to 2019 forecast direct esports revenue surpassing the $1 billion mark.4 Parshakov and Zavertiaeva noted that more than 70 million people watched various esports tournaments in 2013.5 As esports' growth continues, the industry is beginning to face a multitude of potential challenges. While some problems-including match-fixing and doping- have been well documented, others, such as issues of diversity, are slowly becoming Holden and Rodenberg are with the Dept. of Sport Management, Florida State University, Tallahassee. Kaburakis is with the Dept. of Management, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO. Address author correspondence to Anastasios Kaburakis at kaburakis@slu.edu 46

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