Article series: Legal problems around esport as a club

In a report from the Hamburger Sportbund last Friday

Should an e-sports department be located in a sports club in the ideal area and with the purpose of “promoting sport” AND be used for e-sports ideal funds (e.g. grants, membership fees, donations) it is a misappropriation that is misappropriation, which is the denial of non-profit-making. Further information can be obtained from your local tax office.

The current developments surrounding the problem of the non-profit status of esports clubs and the like continued. The problems are often – only – financial in nature, but legally still exciting.

The issue is therefore highly relevant, although it is to be hoped that developments in politics will continue and that legal tricks will no longer have to be used.

So I’ve considered publishing a smaller series of articles on the subject for the industry and some clients.

I will start with the question of how to found a club in the first place and what the prerequisites are for it. Then I will deal with the problem of non-profit-making, which is based above all on Clause 52 of the Tax Code. This lists a variety of ways to get the charitable status granted by the tax office.

As the question of whether esports can be subsumed under “sport” within the meaning of Section 52 of the German Tax Code (AO) is still open and only a comprehensive judicial clarification can really provide a remedy, I would like to show in further articles whether and how a sports club that also wants to offer esports can prevent the possible consequences of the above quote, be it within the framework of a structure or adaptation of the articles of association in the club or by founding a separate company.

Many of the problems are highly controversial and the problems lie in a mixture of ignorance and unwillingness to grant esport the status it already deserves, as a social phenomenon.

Since I want to wait for feedback from clients and colleagues on some articles and to sift through current literature, as I want to clarify the questions for a current mandate anyway, I do not want to give a definitive timetable for all articles. But it will happen within the next two weeks. I am of course always grateful for any other feedback, support through emails to haertel@rahaertel.com and other help!

Perhaps, through clean reasoning, we can convince one or the other tax office to set a precedent and thus advance broad sport.

Author: Marian Härtel

Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.