Although it’s not an entirely new phenomenon, though the spread of esport games to regions without strong historical ties to gaming culture still seems like a novelty, the extreme sports world has long had its competitions; mountainboarders and skaters have been competing for decades. Meanwhile, esports has moved from a fringe activity to having a market share in the millions and acceptance by mainstream media channels.
So this would be fair to say that esport games are going through a growth spurt. According to Newzoo’s 2016 Global Esports Market Report, the global esports economy will grow 38% to $463 million this year. After a slight drop in 2015, the esports audience will jump to over 250 million this year, showing double-digit growth. This shows that esport games is moving towards mainstream acceptance and brand sponsorship while simultaneously facing some problems that other industries do not have to deal with just yet.
However, there are still many difficulties that have prevented the industry from moving forward on a global scale. In the following article, we will be looking at some of the structural problems that have been plaguing esport games in recent years and continue to affect its growth.
Unregulated growth of Esport Games:-
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The lack of regulation surrounding esport games is a double-edged sword, but it does allow the industry to grow without any constraints. Because there are no governing bodies regulating their activities, companies can produce content at a faster rate, resulting in an abundance of choices for consumers. In fact, the sheer amount of releases coming out.visit here
The need for unified regulations will become even more apparent once big investors start to enter the scene. Esport Games have been growing to such an extent that even players from traditional sports are starting to venture into it to find a better career path.
If these investors want a return on their investment, they will need a way to regulate and represent their interests as a collective group
Lack of international regulations in Esport Games:
Since there are no international governing bodies for esports yet, each country has created its own set of rules for competitive video gaming. This has led to some peculiar situations in countries where esports is still relatively underdeveloped, such as India. If two Indian players are playing online against each other through the Internet, there are no laws regulating their competition. This can lead to unfair practices during gameplay or even match-fixing if one of the parties involved decides to bet on the outcome of the game.
The lack of international laws governing esport games can also result in conflicts between countries. Last year, South Korean player Lee “Life” Seung was convicted for match-fixing and sentenced to 18 months in prison. The charges were brought before the courts by the Taiwanese government. Although the Internet is global, there are still many countries that do not have any legislation regulating Internet activity within their national borders. We’ve already written an article on how to best avoid legal problems when playing online games, but it bears repeating that it can be difficult to grasp what is or isn’t allowed in international law.
That is why it’s difficult to determine if the match-fixing that occurs in South Korea would be considered illegal in another country.
Corruption scandals are not exclusive to South Korea, but they did give us a glimpse of how esport games can get caught up in international legal issues. Even it may only be a matter of some time before other countries start requesting the extradition of South Korean players for breaking their laws. This is especially true if they commit a crime within that country’s borders and not just online, where it can be hard to prove jurisdiction.
The esport games industry has been developing at an incredibly fast rate, but we still have no way of knowing how international law will apply to it. This is a problem that can slow down the progress of esports in regions where there are no laws governing its practices and competitions.
Lack of international regulations is one of the biggest problems esport games faces at the moment. This has led many investors to take a wait-and-see approach until these governing bodies are established. However, this lack of regulation does make it easier for esport games to grow. The industry will need to make a choice in the near future on whether they want growth at any cost, with no legal protections for players or investors, or if they are willing to give up some of that freedom in exchange for rules and standards that protect everyone involved.
