SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Karl Ole Möller, Nordia Law
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) and Rocket League disciplines. There has been an ongoing debate on wheth - er or not esports should be recognised as an official sport in Sweden. However, in 2023, the Sports Confederation finally recognised esports as an official sport and admitted the Swedish eSports Association as a member. In January 2022, the Saudi Arabian Public Invest - ment Fund’s Savvy Gaming Group acquired ESL Gaming and DreamHack from Modern Times Group for USD1.5 billion. 10. NFTs, AI and the Metaverse 10.1 Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) NFTs are digital assets that may lead to new revenue streams for Swedish leagues, event organisers, clubs and individual top athletes, etc. NFTs, like cryptocurrencies, are technolo - gies that at the time of writing remain in a grey area in terms of legal recognition in Sweden. NFTs have received huge interest globally, but the industry itself is in a very early stage, and the legal recognition of NFT transactions is still untested in Sweden. IFK Göteborg has become the first club in Sweden, to start selling NFTs in collaboration with their sponsor merinfo.se and the marketplace Atlanten . However, the development of NFTs in Swedish sports has generally been slow so far. Never - theless, NFTs may have great potential to offer new sources of revenue for the sports industry as they offer new types of engagement with the fans. Potential risks with NFTs are mainly copy -
right infringements and violation of the GDPR/ data protection regulations. 10.2 AI Sweden follows the EU regulations on AI, includ - ing the AI Act. The Swedish government has also developed a national AI strategy to guide the responsible development and use of AI across various sectors, including sports. Sports organisations and sponsors in Sweden are leveraging AI in the following innovative ways: • fan engagement: AI is used to personalise fan experiences, such as providing tailored content recommendations and enhancing stadium experiences; • performance analysis: AI-powered tools analyse athletes’ performance data to help coaches tailor training programmes and improve player performance; • injury prevention: AI analyses biomechanical data to identify potential injury risks and sug - gest preventive measures; and • sponsorship activation: AI helps generate monetisable digital content, such as aug - mented broadcast feeds and social media graphics, to increase sponsorship revenues. 10.3 The Metaverse In Sweden, the metaverse is being explored across various sectors, including sports. Some practical applications include virtual events, training and simulation for athletes and fan engagement, such as using the metaverse to offer the club’s fans immersive experiences (vir - tual meetings with players, exclusive behind- the-scenes content, etc).
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