Regulatory Framework for Esports Talent Agents in the Works
The Esports industry is often referred to as the Wild West because there is a lack of industry standards. There are several different players in the space that are doing what they can to dictate the direction that Esports will take. One such player is the Esports Integrity Commission (EIC) who released a statement on January 28, 2020, giving a bit of insight into their intention to create a regulatory framework for talent agents in the Esports space.
“In response to strong feedback from industry stakeholders, the Esports Integrity Commission has commenced an initiative which will see a global regulatory scheme introduced to talent agents. The overarching purpose of the scheme is to ensure youth protection and professional integrity in the administration of talent agent operations.
In order to be commercially sensitive to existing stakeholders in the talent agent space, ESIC has convened a subcommittee of key talent agents which will provide recommendations to the Commissioner about the features which the industry considers necessary to best represent a credible, reliable and beneficial certification scheme for the esports industry internationally. These recommendations will inform the Commissioner’s publication of the scheme.”
The creation of some sort of regulatory framework for talent agents in the Esports world was inevitable. This scheme will potentially establish more credibility behind the persons presenting themselves as Esports agents which will aid players and content creators when choosing who they want to represent them.
The Esports world is already dealing with concerns relating to talent agents and the classification of online entertainers like Esports players and livestream content creators in a lawsuit between Turner “Tfue” Tenney and Faze Clan. In that suit, Tenney argues that Faze Clan is not licensed through the California Labor Commissioner’s Office as an agent which would mean that Faze Clan should not have a say in his employment opportunities. The outcome of this case is likely to have a big impact on the Esports world, especially if it goes the way Tenney (or his legal team) hopes.
Overall, Esports is a rapidly growing industry and it is likely that we will see many more initiatives to stabilize the inner workings of Esports over the coming years.
*The material and information in this blog is for general informational purposes only. In no way is this information to be construed as legal advice for a particular situation.*