POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Łukasz Klimczyk, Maciej Skrzypek, Beata Danel-Skrzypek and Piotr Klepuszewski, SLK Partners
9. Esports 9.1 Development and Growth of Esports Poland is considered one of the more developed esports markets in Central and Eastern Europe, com - bining participation in professional international club competitions with a growing national organisational framework. The market includes both high-level pro - fessional competition and an expanding amateur, aca - demic and youth ecosystem. Polish law does not currently provide a dedicated legal framework for esports. In practice, esports activities operate under general provisions of civil law, com - mercial law and intellectual property law. Esport is not expressly recognised as a sport under the Polish Sports Act, although amendments extending the stat - utory definition of sport to include intellectual activ - ity have opened the possibility of interpreting esports within that framework. Legislative work aimed at intro - ducing esports-specific regulation is currently under consideration. From an organisational perspective, the Polish Esports Federation holds the authorisation to represent the country on the international stage (in the form of the Polish Esports National Team) granted by the Chan - cellery of the President of the Republic of Poland. It is also a member of the Polish Olympic Committee and co-operates with public institutions and sports organi - sations. In addition, the European Esports Federation, bringing together more than 40 national federations, is headquartered in Warsaw. Key legal challenges include the unclear legal status of esports under sports law, dependence on intellectual property rights held by game publishers, the absence of a universally recognised international esports fed - eration, contractual issues concerning player status (including minors) and integrity risks such as match- fixing, betting-related issues and forms of “digital doping”. Governance standards are often adapted from traditional sport, although the sector remains largely self-regulated. 9.2 Key Trends and Notable Deals in Esports The Polish esports market has in recent years shown a clear trend towards further professionalisation and
institutionalisation. A key element of this process is the ongoing work of a task force established by the Ministry of Digital Affairs, aimed at developing dedi - cated legal solutions intended to systematise the market and create organisational, legal and financial frameworks more closely aligned with those operating in traditional sports. Another noticeable trend is the growing use of esports as an interdisciplinary tool for developing skills among young people and increasing their competitiveness in the labour market. In practice, this includes initia - tives targeted at specific groups, such as esports programmes for military personnel and educational or rehabilitation-focused esports projects implemented in youth correctional facilities. In addition, increasing interest from major international organisers of club-based esports competitions has contributed to the continued expansion of Poland as a location for hosting large-scale esports events. A notable recent development was the relocation of one of the largest club-level esports tournaments from Katowice to Kraków, highlighting growing competition between Polish cities to host major esports events. The NFT market in Poland is still relatively early in its development compared to major global hubs. While global NFT activity remains significant, Poland’s por - tion of the market is much smaller. At present, NFTs are not subject to a dedicated nation - al legal framework and – provided they are genuinely unique and do not perform financial or investment functions – they generally fall outside the direct scope of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). However, various general legal provisions may apply, depending on the structure and features of a particu - lar NFT project. In practice, this means that the legal status of NFTs in Poland is currently assessed on a case-by-case, functional basis, rather than under a dedicated, uniform statutory regime, which creates a degree of legal uncertainty and regulatory risk for 10. NFTs, AI and the Metaverse 10.1 Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
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