is eSport a sport?

Labeling video games as sports is a controversial point of debate. Careful planning, precise timing, and skillful execution ought to be what classifies an activity as sport, and that physical exertion and outdoor playing areas are not required by all traditional or non-traditional "sports". In a 2014 technology conference, when asked about the recent buyout of popular game streaming service Twitch, ESPN president John Skipper described esports as "not a sport but a competition. In addition, many in the fighting games community maintain a distinction between their competitive gaming competitions and the more commercially connected esports competitions of other genres. Video games are sometimes classified as a mind sport. In the 2015 World Championship hosted by the International Esports Federation, an esports panel was hosted with guests from international sports society to discuss the future recognition of esports as a recognized, legitimate sporting activity worldwide.

In 2013, Canadian League of Legends player Danny "Shiphtur" Le became the first pro gamer to receive an American P-1A visa, a category designated for "Internationally Recognized Athletes".

In 2014, Turkey's Ministry of Youth and Sports started issuing e-Sports Player licenses to players certified as professionals.

In 2016, the French government started working on a project to regulate and recognize esports. The Games and Amusements Board of the Philippines started issuing athletic license to Filipino esports players who are vouched by a professional esports team in July 2017.

To help promote esports as a legitimate sport, several esports events have been run alongside more traditional international sport competitions. The 2007 Asian Indoor Games was the first notable multi-sport competition including esports as an official medal-winning event alongside other traditional sports, and the later editions of the Asian Indoor Games and its successor the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games have always included esports as an official medal event or an exhibition event up to now. Moreover, the Asian Games, which is the Asian top-level multi-sport competition, will also include esports as a medal event at the 2022 edition; esports around games such as Hearthstone, Starcraft II, and League of Legends were presented as an exhibition event at the 2018 Asian Games as a lead-in to the 2022 games.The 2019 Southeast Asian Games will include six medal events for esports.[89]