G2 Esports’ CS:GO roster should thank their lucky stars none of them are under 12 (Jussi Jaaskelainen/DreamHack)

As reported by Spanish news organization Diario AS, France has passed legislation regulating professional esports contracts within the country.

The law states that all esports contracts signed by players may not exceed five years of duration and cannot be written for less than 12 months, except for in the cases of substitutions or suspensions. What’s more, players under 12 cannot compete in monetized tournaments.

This is one of the first times that laws have been passed in the Western world to protect esports players from potential abuse from their employers. There do exist governmental regulatory bodies in other parts of the world, including KeSPA in South Korea.

In the United States, foreign esports players are allowed athletic visas to play in the country, but aren’t offered special protections under any government regulations.

Follow Taylor Cocke on Twitter @taylorcocke.