Sports consulting newsletter #1 - eSports

On 1 November 2018, it was announced that Paris would host the final of the Worlds 2019, the largest eSports event of its kind. This competition is devoted to League of Legends, the most played eSport game in the world.

The French capital has made eSports an axis of strategic development – should Luxembourg be doing the same?

eSports, a global booming economy

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, eSports is defined as “the activity of playing computer games against other people on the internet, often for money, and often watched by other people using the internet, sometimes at special organized events.”

In 2017, eSports' worldwide revenues stood at US$696 million, with a total of 387 million viewers. According to a study carried out by SuperData for PayPal published in May 2017, revenues from the eSports market in Europe were predicted to reach US$345 million in 2018.

The exponential economic growth of eSports is global, with revenues expected to rise to US$1.4 billion by 2021 according to Newzoo’s 2018 Global Esports Market Report.

eSports’ rapid growth has possibly been possibly thanks to greater media coverage, sponsors development and professionalization. Today, the best professional players earn between €8,000 and €10,000 per month. Moreover, this professionalization also has significant economic potential in terms of the creation of new jobs (e.g. eSports manager, eSportscaster, coach, community manager, etc.).

Some famous sports clubs have seized the opportunity offered by the rise of eSports and created their own teams, like PSG in France in 2017 (and its own Sports TV at the same time).

Once the economic potential of eSports is fully embraced, it could become an area of strategic importance for countries because of its economic, sporting, social and educational dimensions.

Luxembourg: the beginning of eSports development

Currently, eSports are not officially recognized by the government but, in September 2018, the Luxembourg eSports Association launched a public petition calling for the Sports Ministry to recognize and promote eSports. The government, well aware of the potential of eSports, is now waiting on the decision of the International Olympic Committee (CIO) to recognize eSports as a sport, and then to assess the socio-economic issues of the sector and propose a coherent and prosperous legal and regulatory framework for its development and recognition.

These public steps come within a wider context of increased ‘buzz’ around the topic in the Grand Duchy through several events: 

• Kinepolis cinemas screened the League of Legends world finals on 3 November 2018
• Luxmasters 2018’s offline finals took place at Schongfabrik on 1 December 2018. It was a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive contest (a multiplayer first-person shooter video game) organized by E-Sports Luxembourg
• The third edition of the Lux Gaming Experience, the biggest exhibition dedicated to gaming and new technologies in Luxembourg, took place between 29 and 30 September 2018
• Luxembourg eSports are becoming increasingly professionalized. For example, Francisco Muñoz (a triple Luxembourg champion) was sponsored by FC Differdange 03 in an eSports FIFA contest in 2017

All in all, Luxembourg has the potential to develop as an eSports hub. The country has a competitive advantage thanks to its location, which would be strategic for the organization of European-wide tournaments.

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