Safeguarding Competitive Gamers: A Review of Esports Governance and Regulatory Frameworks

Esports have rapidly grown into a billion-dollar global industry. However, this exponential growth has revealed significant governance and regulation issues. Unlike traditional sports, which are overseen by well-established federations, esports governance is scattered, with power mainly held by game publishers and developers. This raises concerns about legitimacy, stakeholder involvement, and transparency. Issues related to integrity, such as doping, match-fixing, underage betting, and sponsorship, highlight the urgent need for robust governance frameworks. This study, thus, aims to analyze the evolving landscape of esports governance and regulatory frameworks. It utilized Scopus AI’s analytical features to conduct a literature review and systematically map the research field. The findings reveal that esports governance is transitioning from publisher-led oversight to network administration organization (NAO) and multistakeholder models, which emphasize inclusivity, transparency, and athlete welfare. Persistent issues such as intellectual property dominance, weak anti-doping enforcement, and fragmented sponsorship governance remain critical barriers. Emerging themes highlight a consistent scholarly focus on governance and law, rising attention to player health and wellbeing, and discussions of unified governance frameworks that integrate legal, ethical, and global standards. This study contributes to esports governance literature by consolidating fragmented research into a coherent conceptual framework. It provides policymakers, regulators, industry stakeholders, and scholars with a roadmap to develop harmonized regulatory systems that balance commercial growth with integrity and athlete protection. Safeguarding competitive gamers requires transitioning to holistic, ethically grounded, and internationally harmonized governance frameworks that promote fair play and transparency.