March 1, 2026 – New York, NY – On February 27, 2026, Justin M. Jacobson recently hosted a lecture, “Esports Talent Visas – A Look At Bestia Situation and More” as part of Vanderbilt Law School’s “Esports: Understanding The Now, Building What’s Next?” Esports Symposium 2026 hosted by the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law (JET). This presentation explored and provided analysis on several legal and practical issues related to the application and retrieval of esports talent visas for professional gamers, coaches, casters, and esports team support staff. This session also focused on the recent BESTIA dispute wherein the esports organization was disqualified from a tournament for failure to timely receive appropriate visas. The session concluded by focusing on the timing and costs related to applying for a talent visa for non-U.S. citizens including providing ideas on how to potentially edit existing statutory language to enable the esports industry to grow within the United States.
Check some photographs from the lecture here.
