INTRODUCTION Contributed by: Jamie Singer and Flora Peel, Onside Law
foundations remain the many decisions that have been published by CAS. This body of case law, taken alongside the rules and regulations underpinning international sport, has created the Lex Sportiva, a distinct international body of law specific to sport. This guide summarises the key principles of sports law in 14 jurisdictions. Each jurisdiction is reviewed following the same 12-section for - mat with sub-sections, allowing for easy com - parisons on specific issues and concerns. It is designed to provide an easy-to-understand guide specific to each jurisdiction, whilst also demonstrating how certain areas of practice have reached a near homogenous position inter - nationally. Anti-Doping Rules By way of example, as a result of the Interna - tional Olympic Committee’s (IOC) support for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and its requirements, anti-doping is regulated and enforced in much the same way across the globe through the WADA Code. The Code was revised in 2009, 2015, 2021 and 2022, providing a robust and uniform set of anti-doping rules applied by all 206 nations comprising the Olympic move - ment. In September 2023, WADA launched the first phase of the 2027 WADA Code & Interna - tional Standards Update. This will involve the simultaneous review and update of the Code that is still ongoing. Betting Conversely, the regulation and exploitation of sports betting differs significantly in different jurisdictions. In the USA, prior to the Supreme Court decision in Murphy v NCAA (2018), sports betting was generally prohibited. That deci - sion marked a sea change in American sports and now in 2025, 38 states have now legalised
sports betting. This, in turn, led to a flood of data and licensing deals between sports leagues and betting companies looking to offer accurate real-time betting services. Last year, a total of USD120 billion was spent on sports wagering, up 27.5% from 2022. France took a similar position, reserving sports betting to Francaise des Jeux , a heavily regulat - ed state monopoly throughout the 20th century and beyond. It is only in the last decade that, following pressure from the EU, France set up the National Gambling Authority with a remit to grant sports betting licences to carefully select - ed commercial operators. At the other end of the spectrum, sports bet - ting in the UK has been an integral part of the commercial landscape for decades, with betting sponsors now accounting for more than half of the front-of-shirt sponsors in the English Premier League and a total investment of around GBP60 million. However, as the USA and France liber - alise sports betting, in the UK a review of the Gambling Act 2005 has begun to restrict bet - ting sponsorship of sport, with a ban of these industry deals coming into force in the 2026–27 season. Meanwhile, jurisdictions such as India continue to treat sports betting as, principally, an illegal activity. Commercial Rights The exploitation of sport’s commercial rights has been one of the biggest growth industries of all in the past 25 years or so. The latest report accord - ing to the Best Howard Model estimates the global sports industry to be valued at USD2.65 trillion – a staggering figure demonstrating just how powerful the world of sport is. As this guide demonstrates, different coun - tries take different approaches to the creation
6
CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook