The UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) has announced that esports will get its own official business classification codes for the first time. This means esports is now formally recognised by the UK government as an industry.
SIC codes are short number codes used to describe what a business does. They are used by organisations such as Companies House when companies register and by government, banks and insurers to understand different industries.
Until now, esports companies had to use general sports or creative industry codes. From now on, esports will have its own. As per the official document, the new esports SIC codes will be:
- 93.112: Operation of esports facilities
- 93.122: Activities of esports clubs
- 91.193: Organisation of esports events
- 91.195: Other esports activities (not elsewhere classified)
It’s worth noting that esports will sit under the UK’s sports activities category, not the creative industries. This means esports teams, venues and competitions will be treated in the same way as traditional sports organisations.
Because esports now has its own codes, the government will be able to properly measure how big the UK esports industry is and how much money it makes. This is expected to make it easier to attract investment and support new jobs in the sector.
It also helps position esports as a real and organised competitive activity, closer to the country’s sports system. This could become more important as organisations such as UK Sport prepare to review and assess new sports from 2026, according to British Esports.
The new structure also allows analysts to create a total figure for esports, while still being able to measure sport as a whole without esports included.
Large parts of the proposal were written by members of the UK Esports Team Committee, with support from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. British Esports also helped consult on the proposal, alongside tournament organiser BLAST.
Michael ‘ODEE’ O’Dell, Scan Computers Director of Esports and Gaming and member of the British Esports Advisory Board, said in a statement published by British Esports, “For 15 years I’ve been pushing for esports-specific SIC codes, and this week they finally approved it.
Kalam Neale, British Esports Head of Education, added, “The news also comes as a welcome and timely development as British Esports are lobbying for the future of esports education programmes. Being able to align new qualifications and progression opportunities for esports students strengthens the pathways from education to employment.
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