The world of eSports keeps evolving and is getting more professional month by month. Five years ago the word “pro” was mainly used to define a skilled player. Today a “pro player” earns a monthly income and a few players have gaming as their full-time job. But with this new professionalism comes more than just a monthly pay check. To make sure players do what they are supposed to do contracts are signed. By signing this contract a player and an organization, or two organizations agree to deliver certain services. This is where (international) law most commonly shows its face in the world of eSports.


Current and Previous Affairs

Over the past year, three conflicts or incidents stood out and attracted a lot of attention. The first incident I want to take a look at is “face versus Begrip”. Early March 2007, Johan "face" Klasson decided to breach the contract that forced him to play for the Swedish organization of Begrip-Gaming for a period of seven months. He did this to be able to play for another Swedish organization; Ninjas in Pyjamas. From the first moment that face made it clear that he wanted to play for the NiP team, Vasili "individ" Richardsson, CEO of Begrip Gaming made it clear that NiP have to pay a sum of approximately 6,500$ to buy the contract. If NiP wouldn’t do this, legal action against Johan Klasson would be taken. When it became clear Ninjas in Pyamas had no intention to pay the Begrip organization Vasili Richardsson told Gotfrag.com "I don't know how much Klasson will have to pay but the most important thing right now is not the money it's about to set an example so we will have a more stable scene in the future." After this, the case was quiet for a period of time. Six weeks later Begrip and NiP confirmed a deal between the two organizations, no numbers were revealed but the media publicized that NiP paid Begrip a sum to reach an agreement between the two organization "Both parties are happy and we are putting this deal behind us."



A conflict that hasn’t been resolved yet is the case between the Hoorai organization and its ex-Counter-Strike squad, currently known as 69°N-28°E. Late November 2006 both parties announced to part ways, no exact reason was given but lack of experience from the management seemed to be the main factor. As stated in the press release from the Hoorai organization “.. although we have evolved impressively in the last few months, there are still some sections in which we have to work hard before we can establish ourselves on top and there were definitely too many mistakes made in the past which interfered with us.” But after two and a half months it became clear that more was going on between the two parties when Hoorai demanded their part of the WCG prize money. The Finnish 69°N-28°E players stated that Hoorai owed them more money than Hoorai’s part of the WCG prize money and therefore refused to send money to Germany, where Hoorai's headquarters is located. The players also stated that while working for Hoorai they didn’t receive the support they were supposed to get according to their contract. Tomi "lurppis" Kovanen, manager of 69°N-28°E, told Gotfrag.com "They only paid us two out of five salaries, they gave us no money for food and the money we spent of visas or taxis should have been reimbursed, but it wasn't," Until today the conflict seems unsettled.



But eSports and the law is more than (alleged breach of) contracts and until one of these cases really make it to a courtroom, there is little to say about the validity of the allegations between these parties. On April the 27^th 2007 the Complexity organization announced an interesting news item that was posted on Gotfrag.com. In this news item it becomes clear how national laws can have a lot of influence on eSports. Early 2007, Marcus "zet" Sundström, a Swedish Counter-Strike player, joined Complexity as their new addition to their Counter-Strike line-up. Many line-up changes happen a lot early January, but there was something special about this transfer. Joining forces with Complexity meant that the Swedish player had to move to the United States to live and practice in the Complexity gaming house with the rest of the team. Living and working in the United States requires a work visa, and that’s what the new item posted on April 27 was all about. Complexity announced that they have obtained a work visa for Marcus Sundström so he can live and work in the United States. To convince the U.S. government that Marcus Sundström met the criteria for obtaining a work visa Complexity, alongside a team of lawyers from a Texas based immigration attorney firm, had to proof that eSports is in fact a real sport and that zet is an extraordinary talented player. With the approval by the U.S. Department of Justice not only zet is acknowledged an extraordinary talented player but with the approval, eSports is recognized as a real sport in the United States of America. This is, without a doubt, a huge step for eSports not only in the U.S. scene, but for global gaming generally.


The Interview

This was not the first time Complexity has taken legal action. On February the 20th 2007 Complexity filled in a lawsuit against one of their sponsors, Velocity Servers, a server company that according to Complexity didn’t fulfil the contract between the two parties. Jason Lake, CEO of the Complexity organization is a lawyer himself and this could be the reason why Complexity is on the forefront of law actions in eSports. But whatever that reason is, hearing Jason Lake’s thoughts on eSports and (international) law should give an interesting sight into the growing influence of contracts, lawsuits and other legal aspects on eSports.

Jason Lake (left) and the CS player Ola "elemeNt" Moum (right)  

How often do you think an eSports organization currently needs professional legal advice?
Really, like any serious business, a professional eSports organization needs legal advice on many levels, including the corporate formation, the contracts involved, etc. If you become entangled in a dispute you often need legal advice. As more gaming organizations become professional and incorporate, we will see a larger need for legal assistance.


Why did compLexity decide to proceed and take the case against Velocity to court? What are your chances of winning/settling down?
We instigated the case mainly out of principle. Far too often companies have treated gamers and gaming organizations like they are jokes and have not respected the rule of legal contracts and agreements. I am very confident in our case, and I do think we will see financial gain, but the reason behind the suit was to send a message to companies that they must honour their agreements and not disrespect gamers and gaming organizations.


Why do you think players breach/break their contracts so often in gaming, is there lack of respect for contracts?
I think there is a lack of respect for both the gaming organization and the rule of contract law. Also, I think they feel that they can get away with it because most organizations will not pursue their contract rights in court. Only when more professional organizations enforce their legal rights will people stop disrespecting their contractual obligations.


You managed to convince the U.S. Department of Justice that professional gaming is a real sport. Professional gaming is a broad term and is possible to interpret in multiple ways. Can you tell us something more about the legal status of professional gaming and which games/player fit in this category?
Basically, in order to get Marcus' visa approved he needed to fall under a professional sport. Thus, the first step was to prove to the Justice Department that pro gaming was a viable sport, and not some hobby. After a lot of work and some good legal assistance, we were successful. While this is not a definitive decision, it sets a positive precedent that can be referred to in the future.


eSports is now acknowledged a real sport in the United States and therefore “individuals with extraordinary abilities” can apply for an O-1 work visa. What are the other benefits of this new legal status?
For the current time, the benefit is directly related to the acquisition of a work visa. However, the precedent set allows any further legal work done on behalf of eSports in the U.S. to refer to this decision as proof that professional gaming is a true sport.


Football, baseball, basketball and other regular sports teams all have in-house lawyers, how long will it take before eSports organizations will need lawyers on their payroll?
I think it's already time for professional eSports organizations to have an attorney on retainer, but most likely not on staff. As eSports grows and things become more serious, I anticipate that eventually top gaming organizations will have a full time attorney like any other large company would.

Conclusion

By looking at current and previous affairs and by talking to Jason Lake it is obvious that alongside the professionalizing of eSports, (international) law is getting a bigger influence. eSports has acquired the status of a true sport in the United States which will probably benefit the development of eSports on the long term. But to become a mature industry, contracts have to be much more respected and therefore organizations and players will have to realize contracts do include contractual obligations.