The violence present in some of the games used in competitions and the submission to confederations created to organize electronic sports are the most sensitive points. For Senator Leila Barros (PSB-DF), it is necessary to deepen the debate before any regulation of electronic sport takes place in Brazil.
“In general, the gamer community disapproves any attempt of regulation. They understand that the State wants to interfere in an activity that is consolidated and working very well. We cannot create something that will block the growth of the sector. It creates jobs and boosts the economy,” said the senator.
Barros, in fact, became an important character in deepening the dialogue about the project. It was her initiative to schedule public hearings last year at the Education, Culture and Sport Commission (CE) to hear representatives of the sector.
“Public hearings showed that the main stakeholders in the proposed regulation of eSports were not heard. This is the duty of Parliament. Clubs, pro-players, federations and electronic game developers have pointed out several points of concern,” she said.
The senator submitted a request for the text to go through a new debate in the Economic Affairs Committee (CAE).
Market
Ex-professional volleyball athlete, Barros even got involved in a controversy with the gamer community after criticizing the equation of eSports with traditional sports, during the vote on the proposal in the EC. She reviewed her position when she realized the size of the market.
In 2018, games became globally more profitable than the film industry and the music industry combined: it was US$ 138 billion in revenue around the world that year, according to Newzoo, a global research institute focused on games and eSports. According to this data, the cinema reached the mark of US$ 42 billion, while the music industry obtained a revenue of US$ 19 billion in the same period.
It is estimated that the Brazilian games market moves about US$ 1.5 billion per year. According to NewZoo, Brazil would have 12 million occasional fans and 9.2 million members of the enthusiastic public, being the third largest captive audience of electronic sports in the world (behind China and the United States).
Violence
Presented in 2017 by Senator Roberto Rocha (PSDB-MA) to propose the recognition, promotion and regulation of electronic sports in Brazil, PLS 383/2017 was approved by the Science and Technology Commission (CCT) in 2018, in the form of a substitute presented by senator Davi Alcolumbre (DEM-AP), current president of the Senate - and went on to the next phase.
In 2019, the text was rewritten by the rapporteur at the Education, Culture and Sport Commission (CE), Senator Eduardo Gomes (MDB-TO). The latter followed Eduardo Girão's suggestion (Pode-CE) to prevent violent games from being considered as eSport, which would result in the non-recognition of athletes competing in popular game championships such as Rainbow Six and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Both are tactical shooting games.
The measure displeased the gamer community and the eSports ecosystem, which include, among others, publishers (sometimes known as “publishers”, “producers” or “game developers”), players, teams and championships organizers.
Intellectual property
Even the original terms of the bill are far from consensus. The gamer community questions the need for electronic sports to be regulated in Brazil and expresses the fear that the project will hinder the growth of the sector, isolating the country from international competitions.
Game developers, publishers, teams and championships organizers maintain that, unlike traditional sports, electronics are played on a platform that is a product whose intellectual property belongs to companies. They also challenge the legitimacy of existing confederations and federations in Brazil, which claim to be representatives of Brazilian eSport. The group delivered a letter to Senator Leila Barros listing criticisms of the bill and reinforcing that electronic sports are unparalleled with traditional sports.
Regulation in São Paulo
An attempt to regulate electronic sports practice has advanced in São Paulo, but was banned in January this year by Governor João Dória. Last year, the State Legislative Assembly approved a bill to recognize confederations and federations created in the mold of institutions that take care of traditional sports as promoters of this activity. The subject has come under criticism from the gamer community, which considers this model unsuitable for electronic sports.
Senator Barros points out that the debate in the Economic Affairs Committee (CAE) can help assess whether it is really necessary to regulate the sector.
Processing
In addition to the request for a hearing at the CAE, which depends on approval of the respective request at the Plenary, the project will again pass through the CCT and the EC, which need to analyze a text amendment by Senator Marcos Rogério (DEM-RO).
Source: Agência Senado
