Esports league bans porn site-sponsored team
For the obvious reason.
Today I learned that porn site YouPorn has its own eSports team. Unfortunately for the site, I also learned that the Electronic Sports League (ESL) has decided that Team YP can't compete in its eSport events, which include Street Fighter 5, Counter Strike and Starcraft. ESL told VentureBeat that "advertising pornography is not legal in the markets we operate in, and the vast majority of partners we're working with have strict 'no drugs, no alcohol, no pornography' rules that we've contractually taken on board."
"These aren't new rules but ones that have been in our rulebooks for a long time. We have spoken to Team YP manager earlier this year, and in that conversation we've explained the situation and rules in detail and offered to look for potential alternatives in a bigger group. At the same time, we're consulting with our legal teams about this."
As Kotaku notes, eSports fans are mostly supportive of Team YP — and it's not the only team with sketchy roots. G2A, which resells Steam keys, is a regular sponsor of ESL teams and events. And then there's the gambling sites. It's another bump in the road for a sport that's still growing up -- regardless of whether its viewers are old enough to watch pornography.
