Last month, Sports Shorts blogged about the rise in popularity of eSports and the wealth of commercial opportunities this presents. In the intervening weeks, eSports has again hit the headlines on both sides of the Atlantic. In the US, the NBA’s 76ers have purchased two eSports teams (Dignitas and Apex), and market research company Newzoo … Continue Reading
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eSports – a recent explosion in popularity but still room to grow
This morning, a panel at the Sport Industry Breakfast Club (featuring Wouter Sleijffers, CEO of Fnatic; Chester King, CEO of International eGames Group; and Hannes Kranich of DraftKings) discussed the growth of the eSports industry and the opportunities it presents. The consensus was that the eSports market still has a huge amount of commercial potential. Whilst eSports is … Continue Reading
Approved NCAA v. House Settlement Leaves Open Ended Legal Questions
After five years of litigation and negotiations, an antitrust settlement between the NCAA, the Power Five Conferences (Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and ACC), and current and former Division I student-athletes has been approved by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken. The landmark agreement reshapes the collegiate sports world as it completes the NCAA’s transition … Continue Reading
“Glass ceilings have been shattered”: Analysing the impact of Kirsty Coventry’s election as the next IOC President
“Seismic”, “groundbreaking”, “landmark”. These are all words that have been used to describe Kirsty Coventry’s appointment as the next IOC President, after she swept to victory in the leadership election on 20 March 2025, winning more votes than the other six male candidates combined. The 41-year-old Zimbabwean will become the second youngest[1], first female and … Continue Reading
Gambling on Top Flight Footballers: ASA Ruling
The Advertising Standards Authority (“ASA”) has issued its first ruling under the new rules that prohibit gambling ads with “strong appeal” to under-18s, providing a useful example as to how the new rules will be applied. Updated Gambling Ad Rules As covered in more detail in a previous article for this blog, on 1 October … Continue Reading
Crackdown on Gambling Ads Featuring Sports Stars: New Advertising Rules
As reported in our previous article published in 2019, the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) have been focussing for some time on protecting children and young persons through their regulation of gambling advertising. Under the current rules, gambling ads are prohibited only if they appeal ‘particularly’ to under-18s, which CAP considers means if an ad … Continue Reading
Women’s sport in lockdown: The W Series
In a pre-lockdown world, momentum was the watch-word for women’s sport. 2019 was a year to remember. The FIFA Women’s World Cup in France saw a shift in perception of women’s football, with the level of skill and entertainment on the pitch gaining new levels of respect and interest. In turn, the sponsorship, prize money … Continue Reading
20 million to one – the FIFA eWorld Cup
Traditionally during the British summer months, sports other than football get to dominate the headlines through the game’s summer break. Despite recent events in Russia lengthening last year’s football season, this weekend saw a number of non-football related events take the sporting headlines: England won a thrilling test match in the first of five this … Continue Reading
Magnificent flying machines? The growing role of drones in sport
Once thought of as weapons of war, commercial use of drones is now on the rise, with companies like Amazon jostling to position themselves at the forefront of the market (launching futuristic initiatives such as Prime Air and filing patent applications for inventions like flying warehouses). In the medical industry, drones have been trialled for … Continue Reading
CrossFit and WME-IMG – the rise of non-traditional sport
I do CrossFit. There. I said it. At the very beginning of this post, thus conforming to most stereotypes about those wedded to the strength and conditioning programme first devised by husband and wife team Greg Glassman and Lauren Jenai. Since first “Forging Elite Fitness”™ in 2000, CrossFit has become the largest gym organisation globally … Continue Reading
