The Twitch streamer Maximilian “HandOfBlood” Knabe shared his opinion on X about the recognition of eSports clubs as non-profit organizations. He didn’t seem enthusiastic about the original draft, but then changed his mind.
What is this change about? The federal government has fulfilled a promise from the coalition agreement: eSports clubs are to be recognized as non-profit in the future, thus being on the same level as other conventional sports clubs.
The recognition of eSports clubs is something that HandOfBlood, among other reasons because he has his own eSports club, Eintracht Spandau, has demanded in the past. For example, he addressed this during a conversation with former politician Robert Habeck.
Specifically, this means among other things that eSports clubs will receive tax benefits and therefore will not have to pay taxes on revenues as long as it serves a non-profit purpose. Additionally, donations can be tax-deductible, and they can more easily access funding. Until now, eSports clubs in Germany could not benefit from such advantages, which also contributed to the eSports winter.
“This is such nonsense that you are doing”
What does HandOfBlood say about it? Under a post on X from the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, which reported on the recognition of eSports clubs, HandOfBlood initially wrote the following:
The statement from the Twitch streamer refers to an initial draft law on the subject; this would have been too restrictive. The requirements there were too strict, such that many common eSports disciplines would have had to be excluded.
Thus, games that depict violence and killing would have had to be excluded. In this way, shooters, such as Counter-Strike or Valorant, would have been completely excluded, which affects a significant part of the eSports world.
Shortly thereafter, the Twitch streamer HandOfBlood corrected his statement in a post below, when he became aware that there was supposedly a new draft. This is said to have fewer restrictions, so that shooters and their respective clubs can also be recognized as sports clubs.
HandOfBlood writes on X: “Was a bit hasty, there was an update! This draft actually looks much better compared to the previous one. Great that the feedback from the eSports world was listened to. A great development if now some details are optimized and the law really comes!”
HandOfBlood is directly affected by any changes of this nature as the chairman of an eSports club, which explains his commitment to the topic. Read more about HandOfBlood and his club Eintracht Spandau here on MeinMMO: HandOfBlood’s LoL team fights against relegation to the second division, now he hopes for the support of the fans
