Game On, Lawyers?

This February 14th marks the start of the second season of an upstart sports league, the Overwatch League (OWL). Instead of looking at the gridiron, baseball diamond, or hockey rink viewers spectate an electronic arena.  Endeavors like the Overwatch League mark the rise of the Esports industry.  Esports as a whole has been on a steady ascendancy as a spectator sport and with more viewers comes more interest from business leaders and advertisers.

This influx of attention and money (OWL has a prize pool of nearly 5 million dollars this season) in a fledgling industry means that there will be room for lawyers looking to specialize in the field.  Esports law is on the rise and there will be a definite need for well rounded lawyers.  Esports touches on a variety of traditional legal fields such as contracts, legal gambling, endorsements, mergers and acquisitions, collective bargaining and more.  Already, major U.S. law schools are acknowledging the challenges of Esports law and looking to include it in their advanced degree offerings and conferences.

This fledgling legal specialty has room to grow alongside the games it's based around and law students can explore entering a new and developing specialty.  And if all else fails, anyone can always try to go pro themselves.

*Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash