eSport: the legal status of the e-player

E-sport is the subject of rapid development: numerous competitions, national and international, continue to be created, attracting the attention of companies wishing to promote their business by joining this practice. E-sport, for “electronic sport”, i.e. electronic sport, refers to the practice of video games opposing at least two players on different media (Internet, local or LAN) in the form of competition.

Get in the game

For esports players, e-sportspeople or e-players, it is a way to obtain, on the one hand, a regular income and, on the other hand, the equipment necessary for the daily exercise of their activity, including, in particular, a large part of training. Although regulations are currently adopted, esports still face several problems, including the legal status of e-players. He can be a self-employed person or an employee.

The Status of Self-Employed Person

Before the promulgation of the law for a digital republic, on October 7, 2016, on October 7, 2016, many players opted for the status of self-employed person, which combines two possibilities: the status of auto-entrepreneur or the simplified joint stock company (SAS).

• The status of auto-entrepreneur

The status of auto-entrepreneur has advantages: simplicity of the declaration (a simple form to fill in); maintenance of simplified accounts; social regime (simplified payment of social contributions and contributions, etc.); tax advantages (absence of VAT, tax exemptions, tax exemptions, option for withholding tax, etc.); tax advantages (absence of VAT, tax exemptions, option for withholding tax, etc.). However, it also has disadvantages: compulsory membership in the Social Scheme for Self-Employed Persons (RSI); unlimited liability, which is here a sticking point for young players who do not yet have significant assets. From an annual turnover of 33,100 euros, the auto-entrepreneur automatically switches to a sole proprietorship regime: the SAS.

• The SAS

As a preliminary point, it should be noted that, in this case, as players exercising their activity alone, the company would take the form of a simplified joint stock company with a single shareholder (SASU). SAS has many advantages: great contractual freedom, the option, in some cases, between corporate tax or the taxation of profits with income tax, the absence of social security contributions on dividends received, etc. It also has certain disadvantages such as the difficulty of drafting the articles of association, due in particular to the great contractual freedom, or the impossibility of benefiting from the regime for self-employed workers, a regime characterized by a much lower social security rate. important only for A manager affiliated to the general regime. Indeed, although offering certain advantages, both the status of auto-entrepreneur and the creation of a SASU do not seem to correspond to the legal needs of e-players, in particular because of the subsequent administrative burden.

Employee status

The e-player can consider working as an employee. However, there are various types. First of all, it is necessary to rule out certain contracts before focusing on the contract that would seem the most appropriate: the specific fixed-term contract.

• Contracts to be presumably discarded

Several contracts should probably be ruled out: the status of intermittent entertainment; seasonal work; fixed-term contracts; permanent contracts; permanent contracts; permanent contracts. As for the intermittent status of the show, it should be ruled out insofar as the e-players are not really intermittent, because they are employed continuously during the year, this would create a risk of being requalified as a permanent contract. Seasonal work should also be ruled out in view of the ongoing nature of the commercial relationship between the player and the team. The use of fixed-term contracts (CDD) under ordinary law also seems inexpedient because the conditions for recourse, such as the temporary increase in activity or the replacement of an absent employee, are not met. Common fixed-term contracts whose recourse cases, such as professional sports, are provided for in article D. 1242-1 of the Labor Code, Seems also inapplicable insofar as, on the one hand, e-sport is not recognized as a sport and cannot therefore be understood in cases of appeal under Article D. 1242-1 of the Labor Code and, on the other hand, this implies the submission of teams to the National Collective Sports Agreement (CCNS). Finally, the open-ended contract (CDI) must also be rejected in view of, in particular: the inadequacy of the rules of resignation and dismissal under common law with the international practice of buying players; the sporting hazard; the short careers of e-players, of ten to fifteen years. If these contracts do not appear to be adapted to esports, this does not seem to be the case with the specific CDD.

• The specific CDD

Articles L. 222-2 to L. 222-6 of the Sports Code provide for a specific CDD, applicable for professional athletes and coaches: lasting from one to five years, renewable as much as necessary and with a good level of legal security. In consideration of the proposals of an interim report, drawn up by two senators, Rudy SALLES and Jérôme DURAIN, the law for a digital republic has made this specific fixed-term contract mandatory in the presence of: employed professional e-players; employed by an association or company benefiting from an approval. This CDD is specific in that it provides for: a duration that cannot, on the one hand, be less than the duration of a competitive video game season of 12 months, with exceptions (article 9 of Decree No. 2017-872 of May 9, 2017), and on the other hand, exceed a period of 5 years unless renewed; mandatory information as well as prohibited mentions (e.g. clauses for the pure and simple unilateral termination of the CDD); Procedures authorization for the participation of a minor; a reclassification of the CDD into a permanent contract in the event of non- Compliance with the above rules. Therefore, despite its advantages, the specific CDD has several disadvantages: it involves an employment relationship that involves numerous consequences (social security contributions, etc.), the request for an approval from the minister in charge of digital technology to be renewed every 3 years; the law text does not seem to provide for an obligation to provide for an obligation to conclude such a fixed-term contract for non-professional and/or non-employed players who conclude a contract with an association or a company that does not benefit from approval. Text is published under the Responsibility of its author. Its content does not in any way engage the editorial staff of Les Echos Solutions.

Source: Lesechos.fr [/column]