Members of the Welsh Parliament (the Senedd) recently discussed the growth of esports in Wales, a constituent country of the United Kingdom, with the Welsh Government confirming plans to establish a new cross-party group dedicated to esports.
A Cross-Party Group (CPG) in Wales is an informal forum within the Welsh Parliament that allows Members of the Senedd (MSs) from different political parties, outside organisations, and the public to meet and discuss shared interests in specific subject areas.
The discussion began when Benjamin Hodge Mckenna, a Reform UK politician in Wales, asked what the Welsh Government is doing to promote the growth of esports in the country.
Heledd Fychan, a Welsh Government politician, responded that Creative Wales, a Welsh Government body that supports creative industries, has backed Esports Wales, the official national governing body for competitive video gaming and esports in Wales, to help develop skills and career paths connected to esports.
She said the government actively considers proposals for economic investment in esports as they come up and continues to support Wales’s video game industry through funding for game development and production, skills programmes, and trade opportunities.
As an example, she noted that in September, the government brought a group of eight Welsh video game developers to the Tokyo Games Show, an industry trade event in Japan. She added that she believes there is more the government could be doing and said this would be looked at as part of a new strategy currently being developed.
Mckenna then raised the economic benefits esports events could bring to Wales. He referenced a description from Stockton University in the United States, which calls esports tournaments an “untapped tourism opportunity.” He also cited a Greater London Authority estimate that a single esports event, the 2025 Blast Premier London Open, generated more than £30 million in economic impact for London.
He noted that London’s mayor has set out an ambition to position the city as a hub for global esports and asked whether Wales could pursue a similar goal so it, too, could benefit from the growing industry. He then asked the government to commit to taking action to help attract more esports events to Wales.
In response, Fychan said she understood a new cross-party group on esports would be set up, noting that two parties in the Senedd had already committed to being part of it. She reiterated that she recognises more could be done on esports in Wales and is keen to hear ideas from any Senedd members on how esports could be incorporated into the government’s new strategy.
Wales is not alone in taking a closer look at esports, with several countries making moves to give the sector formal recognition. In October 2026, Brazil formally recognised esports as a sporting activity, which regulates the country’s legal framework for video games. Earlier this year, the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced that esports would receive its own official business classification codes for the first time, formally recognising it as an industry. Meanwhile, on 30 July, the then Colombian President Gustavo Petro sanctioned a law recognising esports as an official sport and integrating it into the country’s National Sports System.
