Legal aspects of Play-to-Earn (P2E) as a revenue-generating activity

Abstract

PRÁVNÍ ASPEKTY PLAY-TO-EARN (P2E) JAKO VÝDĚLEČNÉ ČINNOSTI 5 Abstract This thesis focuses on the legal qualification of a new business model of video games, which, in contrast to the traditional conception of video game entertainment as a recreational activity, promises players the possibility of achieving a stable income. This model has come to be known in the industry as "play-to-earn" (P2E), where the earning mechanism is implemented di- rectly in the source code of the video game. Unlike professional video game play for financial reward, known as e-sports, the P2E model is based on re- warding through the automatic generation of crypto-assets (cryptocurren- cies or non-fungible tokens known as NFTs). The player is then able to trans- act with the assets thus acquired, including the resulting exchange into legal tender. The mechanism of the game runs automatically through smart con- tracts built on a blockchain. This thesis examines this phenomenon from sev- eral legal aspects, in particular the issue of gambling, the upcoming Euro- pean regulation on Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA) and related Czech tax issues. In order to identify gambling, selected P2E games are subjected to a thorough analysis in the second part of the thesis, with the following chapter dedicated to a discussion of the legislation de...