Esports — electronic-sports teams, players and organizers — is not recognized as sport under the Law on Sport: the statute contains no recognition norm for esports, and this should be said plainly. The deals of players, teams and organizers are therefore ordinary civil contracts, structured by the norms of the works contract: the concept of performance, legal and material defect-freedom, avoidance for defect and the moment of payment. On this page we explain how these norms operate in esports deals.
The Concept of Performance — What the Team Buys
By the works contract the contractor undertakes to perform the work provided by the agreement, and the client must pay the agreed remuneration. In esports, the "work" is everything written into the contract: training sessions, appearances at matches, streams, promotional activities — the more precise the list of deliverables, the better the performance can be measured. The estimate rule operates here as well: the drawing-up of an estimate connected with the work is not reimbursed unless otherwise agreed — the reimbursement of equipment, internet or travel costs must be written into the contract expressly. Where the work includes the making of an article and the contractor makes it with his own materials, he transfers to the client the ownership of the article — in esports this means the transfer of content: videos, training materials and other results created by the player on his own resources pass to the team under the contract. This condition should be explained separately — what passes, when, and with which rights.
Legally Defect-free Performance — the IP-clean Deliverable
Particularly important for esports is the norm of legal defect-freedom: the work is legally defect-free if third persons cannot exercise any rights against the client. In practice this touches intellectual property: if a player hands the team content, a stream archive or another result over which a third person — for example, the game's creator or another author — holds a right, the performance is legally defective. Material defect-freedom rests on the agreed conditions: the work is materially defect-free if it conforms to the agreed conditions; and where these conditions are not agreed, the work is considered defect-free if it is fit for the contractual or customary use. Equated with a material defect is the case where the contractor makes an article different from the ordered one or in a smaller quantity — appearing in a format or scope other than agreed is a breach. The practical advice is simple: the list of deliverables in the contract should be detailed enough that every performed element can be checked — from the playing schedule to media obligations. The check of legal cleanliness extends to the sources of content and licences as well: the game creator's terms, the rights to music and other materials should be clarified in advance, because a third party's claim over a part of the result undermines the whole performance.
The Consequence of a Defect and the Moment of Payment
Where performance is defective, the client may avoid the contract under the general rules of avoidance; in this case the contractor must reimburse the client's contract-related expenses — meaning that after a defective season the team not only terminates the contract but recovers its related outlays. The moment of payment is determined by law: the client must pay the remuneration after the performance of the work, unless the contract provides for payment in instalments — an advance and tranches are therefore laid down by a separate clause, while the default is payment after performance. In esports deals, where seasonality is high, this default is often contested — the parties should write the payment schedule into the contract themselves — nuances such as a season-opening advance, result bonuses and payment days; otherwise the law demands payment after performance and the player receives no money throughout the period. A detailed description of the payment terms is the simplest means of preventing a dispute: the parties see from the outset at which moment, in which amount and on the basis of which document each payment falls due.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below we answer the questions that arise most often around esports contracts.
Is esports sport under the law?
No — a recognition norm does not exist; the deals are ordinary civil contracts.
What is legally defective performance?
One where a third person can exercise rights against the client — for example, an intellectual-property claim over the result.
Can the contract be avoided for a defect?
Yes — under the general rules; in that case the contractor also reimburses the contract-related expenses.
When is the fee paid?
After the performance of the work, unless instalments are agreed in the contract.
Are equipment costs reimbursed?
Not by default — the estimate is reimbursed only by the contract.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The Legal.ge team assists esports players, teams and organizers in drafting contracts and resolving disputes. We describe the deliverables and the payment schedule, verify the legal cleanliness of the results, and protect interests in cases of defect or non-payment. Contact us for a consultation — we will assess your contract and prepare terms that fit your regime precisely.