E-sports and the application of sports and labor legislation

Abstract

Objective: The present study aims to describe the similarities between e-Sports and the conventional Sports, in order to emulate the viability of conventional Sports law to regulate the relations formalized with cyber athletes, at least until the emergence of a specific legal regulation on e-Sports. The interaction between Labor Law and those relations will be focused too, in order to confer social rights security, especially constitutional human rights involved on that debate.

Methodology: The article is a theoretical approach that seeks to recognize how the dynamics of e-Sports encompass the legal science of Sports Law, based on the deductive method, supported by market analysis, legal research and bibliographic review.

Originality/Relevance: Nowadays some discussions suggest a controversy about the e-Sports legal framework at Brazil, especially about the application of the conventional Sports Law and interaction with the Labor Law discipline. This controversy is not justifiable, either because e-Sports constitute a sport in the authentic sense, or because all work relationships in this field are bound to the legal parameters of adjudication of social rights provided for in the Constitution. This constitutional approach is important because the legitimacy of e-Sports initiatives depends on that, putting on the core of the business consider the real legal limits emerging of the State regulations applicably incidents on contracts signed with cyber athletes. In the course of Revolution 4.0, those approximations between conventional ways and electronic ones will be the tonic of the society transition onto technological new way of life. Describing those interactions is essential to provide new ways of State´s legal regulations, attributing liberty on business dynamics and ensuring social rights on the labor relations. The parameters of ethics on business here emerges as exigencies by ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) administration models, which is embraced by relevant theories, as the John Elkington´s one, especially on his concept of triple bottom line.

Main results: The activity that has been called e-Sports and its vertiginous growth puts pressure on the legal system to reach appropriateness solutions for the controversies that arises from the relationships between players, clubs, associations and all of stakeholders rounding this innovative market. Immediately, the application of Sports and Labor Law emerges as a palliative solution, but specific new regulations are necessary, in order to provide development ways to the businesses, focusing on liberty for the market dynamics and on security for the social rights.

Theoretical/methodological contributions: The article seeks to emulate the attraction of sports and labor legislation for e-Sports regency, guaranteeing legal certainty to the already established relationships, and developing increase ways for business on this market, with citizens social rights preservation, especially constitutional ones.