Sports industry growth depends on legal system

The Chinese e-sports sector needs to see more effort in law and regulation making before the industry will experience an explosive growth, an expert said at an industrial conference in Xiamen on Thursday.

Zhang Shuidi, general manager of Xiamen C&D Xinghui E-sports Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Xiamen C&D Inc said China's e-sports industry is about to enter a phrase of explosive growth due to the recently concluded 2018 Asian Games.

"In the process of e-sports development, there are many legal problems that need to be solved," he said, and expressed his hope the authorities and the industrial workers can get involved so "the industry can grow in a healthy direction while complying with a legal framework."

An Shouzhi, co-founder of Sportbank, a Beijing-based sports industry think tank, said the sector has seen a number of disputes related to sponsorship for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 2018, which can only be solved through the legal system.

"The future for the sports industry is huge, as a government paper stated the market will grow to five trillion yuan ($730 billion) by 2025," An said. "With the rapid development of the sports industry, various issues will also emerge. We can only avoid such conflicts through laws."

Cui Liguo, director of the Guantao Law Firm, said in a new era for the sports industry, be it traditional sports or e-sports, we must learn from countries with more experience and a mature industrial background as an example for the legal system.