British Esports Association: “We are very clear, we do not want to get involved in terms of regulation.”

Talking to Esports Pro, the chairman for the British Esports Association’s advisory board Andy Payne has talked about how the organisation doesn’t have any intention of getting involved in esports regulation.

“We, at British eSports, are very clear, we do not want to get involved in terms of regulation.” Payne says, plainly. “Why? Well, simply there are so many games now that are eSports, but the regulation of those games in terms of rulesets is set by the publishers, and that’s it.”

Talking about the recent furore over loot boxes, Payne points out several bodies are already set up to decide if legislation or regulation is required and pursue them if that turns out to be the case. In the future, Payne states, trade bodies like Ukie and Tiga might find themselves involved in this process, organisations that the British Esports Association work with, they don’t see themselves as regulatory champions.

“Obviously, we’ll input into anything that we’re asked to consult on, and we’re happy to input, but to be very clear, we are not a national body, and we are not a governing body. “

“I think that makes us quite different sometimes from sports because within eports, the games are owned by the publishers or developers. In the world of traditional sport, the actual games are not owned by anybody. The tournaments around competitions and the teams themselves have owners, but the actual game of football or the game of tennis is not owned by anybody. So, the national bodies tend to regulate those.”

“We don’t think that’s an important role for us, and so we’ve moved on from that.”

Payne mentions that as game publishers and developers have a direct link to the game, adding another organisation into the mix only serves to muddy the waters of responsibility, and that that role isn’t where the organisation is best suited.