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University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

Abstract

This paper will discuss the recent growth in the esports industry and the challenges in developing a single regulatory model. Currently, there are multiple organizations that claim to govern the esports industry, but they all cover different areas of the sport which causes them to lack cohesion. These organizations lack the enforcement mechanism needed to back up the regulations that they propose. This creates a legitimacy issue at the same time that concerns over corruption continue to grow. These considerations make clear that there needs to be a single regulatory body to oversee the esports industry to preserve the legitimacy of the sport. There are great complexities in the international regulation of esports. Every country has different ways of tackling esports issues; to create one regulatory body is a task of great difficulty. Furthermore, individual countries are passing different sports gambling laws that affect the esports industry, which further complicates the issue, since it is often unclear which law applies to which country. This broad-spectrum approach to regulation is unchartered; there is not much precedent as to how to tackle regulation on a global level. Many different organizations are becoming involved in this growing enterprise making the industry a “free-for-all”; therefore, current regulations greatly depend on the country sponsoring the event. Thus, implementing a single regulatory body is a multidimensional issue with many players involved and, therefore, a large undertaking.

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