Member of the European Parliament Laurence Farreng, who is French and part of the Renew Europe Group, led the push and the initiative passed with a convincing 92% of votes in favour of the move.

Esports have continued to grow over the last five years, with the COVID-19 pandemic shining a spotlight on the industry with global competitions going online, and the need for in-person events lessened.

MEP Farreng said it was predominantly the pandemic that brought esports and gaming to the attention of her and her committee.

“We decided to write a resolution on the recovery of the cultural sector and asked from special means in the recovery plan for these industries, and that’s when I realised that the video games sector was so huge and so important,” she said.

“A very positive point (of the report) is that we have revealed what the sector is.

“(We) weighed its specificities, the need to better consider it with specific programmes, specific funding, defending its specificity because it’s based on intellectual property, and we have to protect European IP and cultural assets.”

Farreng saw the need for policies, programmes and incentives at a European level to continue the growth of the industry.

She also believes the esports and gaming industries need their own funding, but to get it they would have to be defined first.

Both Farreng and President of France Emamanuel Macron were present at an event earlier this year, at the Elysee Palace, the official residence of the President, where French esports stakeholders like Team Vitality and Karmine Corp were invited.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who has become an active voice in favour of esports in recent years, backed his fellow member of Parliament.

When BLAST announced that the next Counter-Strike Major, BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, was going to be held in Paris, President Macron himself made the announcement.

This initiative is only a recommendation and how it will be implemented is yet to be decided, however, getting the ball rolling about esports and the gaming industry is a big step in the right direction.

This could also greatly increase the betting scope surrounding esports, with it possible it will become an option at regulated sports betting sites in France and other places in Europe.

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The global esports industry has enjoyed astronomical growth over the past decade, yet any form of regulation is still largely handled by the publishers and developers of popular games such as Call of Duty, League of Legends, Overwatch, and many more. However, with the just passed resolution, there is the hope of standardization of the industry, specifically within Europe.

The resolution was a long time coming, as the processes leading to it started a year ago when the EU parliament called for research on the industry as part of its sports policy. Reports on esports analysis and policy recommendations were submitted earlier this year.

The final and amalgamated report shed light on issues such as definitions, the role of esports in education, culture, media, technology, provision of a legal framework, amongst many others. After several amendments, adoption of the report by the Culture and Education committee (CULT) and an eventual debate by members of the parliament, the resolution was passed after it garnered 560 votes in favour and 34 votes against.

The resolution raised questions concerning the ambiguous state of the industry, calling attention to the immense possibilities lying within it. The resolution highlighted the need for funding, creation of legal frameworks, development of a charter with game publishers and developers in light of data privacy and cybersecurity, and many more. In terms of betting, the resolution called for safeguarding the industry from issues such as doping, match-fixing, illegal gambling and other vices through player education and the promotion of positive values and skills.

While commenting on the achievement, Tomasz Frankowski, EPP Group coordinator in the European parliament, noted: “Videogames have a huge economic potential in the creative and cultural sectors. The European Union has more than 80,000 people working in the sector and is home to some 5,000 development studios, some of which are world leaders. It is also one of the few cultural and creative industry to have experienced turnover growth during the COVID-19 crisis.”

Nepomuk Nothelfer, a legal researcher for the EU on esports, also expressed enthusiasm for the resolution. He said: “The resolution alone is a gigantic recognition of gaming and esports. [But] I get the feeling the real work will begin after the resolution. Most of the time it’s before the resolution because now you have a plan, and you can act on it. But in esports it’s still so complicated. … I get the feeling that the stages afterwards will take a long time.”

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