2023-08-25 00:56:48
E-sports should be recognized as non-profit. That is in the coalition agreement between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP. After much back and forth, this is now to be implemented. “We’re ready now,” said FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai on Thursday at the traditional “Debatt(l)e Royale” politicians’ round at Gamescom in Cologne.
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The crucial coordination between the ministries was underway so that the government could “technically implement its initiative by the end of the year”. The liberal had announced something similar twelve months ago in the same place, but nothing came of it. This time he was convinced that the topic would actually be cleared up.
This should make it easier for e-sports clubs to solicit monetary or material donations and in return to issue confirmations for the tax office. There has been a relevant working group in the Bundestag for some time. The video games industry has been at odds with the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) for years on the question of the recognition of e-sports. He argues that professional daddling should not be classified as a sport due to the lack of exercise. The other side, on the other hand, speaks of athletic activities.
Oppositionists do not oppose
“We should ignore the definition discussion and go into funding,” demanded NRW media minister Nathanael Liminski (CDU). “If hundreds of thousands of people do it, then that’s a given.” E-sport promotes fitness and inclusion, since disabled people can also be part of the “community via screens”. According to Liminski, North Rhine-Westphalia has set up an e-sports academy to promote the “players of tomorrow holistically”, including healthy nutrition. Coaches are also being trained there.
Berlin’s Economics Senator Franziska Giffey (SPD) referred to the Upper School Center for Communication, Information and Media Technology (OSZ KIM). There has been a training course in immersive media design there since August 1st. The University of Applied Sciences is also increasingly focusing on game design. Another topic is the responsibility of the game makers to stage the heroes of a story and to think of women, for example. Büning again appealed to developers not to give hate and discrimination any room and to include everyone. There is still a huge problem, especially in video game chats. It is also necessary to network the industry better, for which there is the House of Games in the capital.
Everyone wants more federal subsidies
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Christian Democrat Liminski was annoyed that we “every time have to discuss the issue of funding”. The current stumbling block: At the end of 2022, the Bundestag promised 70 million euros in state aid for games after the estimated budget of 50 million had been used up prematurely. According to the federal government, it should only be 48.7 million euros in 2024.
“We agree that more money is needed,” Berlin’s Economics Senator Franziska Giffey (SPD) advocated for more funding. Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck from the Greens dampened hopes in Cologne that Parliament would give more money again this time.
“Despite the state of emergency” in North Rhine-Westphalia, the state government added half a million to its own funding, Liminski countered. The Berlin Senate used state funds to provide incentives for major e-sports events, Giffey reported.
The federal government stands for solid financial policy, Djir-Saai replied. The FDP wants to keep the games location competitive. It’s not a good way to talk about it every year. More money and, above all, planning security are needed. The traffic light coalition must also get tax incentives. The last word has not yet been said here. Investments in the sector “must increase,” agreed Emily Büning, managing director of the Green Party. She doesn’t think it makes sense to hold on “to the black zero” in the face of an impending recession.
(ds)
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