DOSB rejects eSports!

The German Olympic Sports Confederation has rejected eSports or, as the professionals from Frankfurt call it, eGaming, and refused to recognize it as a sport.

Among other things, it comes to the conclusion that eGaming in its entirety does not meet the central admission criteria that constitute and shape the sports and federation system under the umbrella of the DOSB.

From a legal point of view, the decisive factor is that the DOSB currently sees no reason to change the tax code and to include eGaming/”eSport” as an area that primarily follows commercial exploitation interests. For this reason, the latter also wants to work consistently towards ensuring that no eGaming activities are offered in clubs that do not comply with the recognized set of values of the DOSB sports system.

In order to promote electronic sports simulations, the association considers those federations that deal with the respective sport represented in the game to be responsible.

“The DOSB recommends reporting those active in virtual sports through the sports,” it says. Thus, there is currently “no need for one or more independent eGaming/eSports associations under the umbrella of the DOSB.”

The legal support of eSports activities, which also rely on the need for volunteerism, promotion and equal tax treatment with sports, does not make this decision any easier. Even though the DOSB intends to carefully observe further developments, it currently expressly welcomes the IOC’s declaration of July 21, 2018, with which the IOC currently clearly refrains from recognizing “eSports”.

The entire statement can be found here.

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.