Doping, Disputes, Betting, and More: DaHui Authors China Sports Law Guide for Chambers 2023

China’s sports industry grew in market size from RMB 1.71 trillion at the end of 2015 to RMB 3.12 trillion at the end of 2021. And with new policies and plans guiding the landscape ahead, and zero-Covid in the rear-view mirror, further growth and opportunity appear almost certain.

This promising landscape is unique, however, and requires careful navigation. Fortunately, DaHui just authored a complete guide covering the intersection of sports and the law in China, which will empower market participants in this growing sector within one of the largest economies in the world. Following our recent fintech guide for Chambers and Partners, DaHui team members Cloud Li and Chris Beall assembled the China section of Chambers’ Sports Law 2023 guide, which has now been published.

By examining and comparing 14 “high-profile jurisdictions” in this rapidly-growing industry, Chambers’ new guide “provides the latest legal information on anti-doping, betting, disciplinary proceedings, commercial rights, corporate governance, intellectual property, data, dispute resolution, employment, esports and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).” DaHui’s section examines all of these topics, as well as additional China-specific aspects of sports law such as how PRC data privacy laws apply to the data obtained from devices on athletes’ bodies as well as data about the spectators in the crowd. In addition to a broad and overall legal assessment of the state of China’s sports industry covering the past year, we also have prepared a succinct “Trends & Developments” section which focuses on emerging trends and patterns to help guide practitioners in this space throughout the near term.

PRC Sports Law & Practice

From how sports broadcasts can be used to who can be held liable in the event of sporting tragedies, the guide begins with a comprehensive look at the law around sports in China. Topics include regulations, commercial rights, sports events, corporate law and sports, intellectual property, data and data protection, dispute resolution, employment, esports, women’s sport, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and regional issues.

Sports Law in China: Key Trends & Developments for 2023 and Beyond

How will AI affect the sports industry? Where are domestic sporting events headed after the end of zero-Covid? How does the 2022 amendment to the Sports Law of the People’s Republic of China affect the sporting landscape? How much money is there in China sports anyway? This section dives into all these questions and more.

Download DaHui’s China Sports Law Guide for Chambers via the button below

DaHui is honored to be a Chambers contributor to this guide, as well as to various other Chambers Global Guides such as Corporate M&A, TMT, Fintech, and more.

About DaHui’s Sports Law Practice: DaHui Lawyers has a sports practice that represents some of the world’s most well-recognized sporting organizations, top-level and high-profile professional athletes and large-scale sports media companies. The firm’s primary work in this area includes advising on licensing deals, sponsorship agreements, live-event implementation, market entry and corporate structuring matters, onshore and cross-border deal facilitation, PRC regulatory compliance, intellectual property protection and tax matters. The members of DaHui’s sports practice have developed a reputation as client-oriented, pre-eminent attorneys across the entire spectrum of sports matters. Whether assisting domestic PRC giants in their onshore or offshore ventures, or advocating on behalf of global companies in their cross-border sports projects, the practice has a growing reputation as a top choice for serious players within these key industries. Whatever the task and no matter how high the hurdle, DaHui’s sports practice is as driven by winning as its clients.

About Chambers’ 2023 Sports Law Practice Guide: Chambers and Partners is the leading independent professional legal research company operating across 200 jurisdictions. They deliver detailed rankings and insight into the world's leading lawyers and law firms.

Regarding the 2023 Sports Law Practice Guide in particular: “Not so long ago, judges and academics scoffed at the suggestion that there was such a thing as “sports law”. There may have been a burgeoning sports industry, but it did not generate its own substantive body of law. Perhaps the idea that something as frivolous as sport could generate its own jurisprudence did not seem possible or even appropriate to a rather conservative judiciary. With those commentators now clearly part of ancient history, Chambers publishes its third Sports Law Global Practice Guide. Sports law is now not only an internationally recognised legal discipline in its own right, but has also generated a significant body of legal precedent. In particular, it provides a crucial framework for the operation and regulation of an industry that has grown at an astonishing pace.”