Are elite e-sporters legally recognised?

My son plays video games all day long and he tries to explain to me that he's training like any top sportsman would! He talks to me about online competitions, cash prizes and other terms that completely escape me. According to his explanations, he's active in e-sport... Does that legally exist?
D, Geneva
E-sport is the competitive practice of video games, often within a structured framework with tournaments, teams and cash prizes (a reward given to a player for winning a competition). Unlike traditional sport, which is based on intense physical activity, e-sport mobilises above all cognitive, strategic and fine motor coordination skills. These new sportspeople mainly use a computer or video game console.
In Switzerland, the distinction between sport and e-sport is still unclear. The Federal Office of Sport (FOSPO) does not officially recognise e-sport as a sporting discipline in the same way as football or tennis. The federal law on the promotion of sport (LESp) and its ordinance are silent on the subject. However, some Swiss organisations, such as the Swiss Esports Federation (SESF), are working towards institutional recognition.
From a legal point of view, this lack of recognition has implications: professional e-sport players do not benefit from the same protection and support as traditional athletes, such as federal subsidies or specific social insurance status. On the other hand, they remain subject to the general rules of employment law and contracts for sponsorship or participation in competitions. E-sport contracts also raise questions about image rights, taxation and the regulation of player transfers, which are often based on the procedures used in traditional sport.
In practice, e-sport is already structured like a sport, with leagues, coaches and intensive preparation. Some players spend hours training, just like traditional sportsmen and women, but using different skills: reflexes, concentration and quick decision-making.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), based in Lausanne, could play a key role in the development of the legal status of e-sport, as it is regularly called upon to settle disputes in traditional sports relating to players' contracts, tournament rules and disputes between organisers and sponsors. The CAS has not yet given its opinion on the formal recognition of e-sport as a sporting discipline; adding e-sport to its remit would, according to some, be a decisive step towards its assimilation to traditional sport and would make it possible to harmonise legal practices at international level.
In short, if your son sees himself as a sportsman, he's not wrong in principle. But from a legal and institutional point of view in Switzerland, e-sport does not yet have the same status as traditional sport. This could change in the future, particularly with the rise of international competitions and the growing interest in e-sport on the part of both the public and the business community. The e-sport Olympics will be held for the first time in 2027.