Professional esports athletes must register for tax.

The law is clear - income from esports by professionals is taxable.

There is a specific inclusion in the gross income definition (the definition used as the starting point to determine an individual’s taxable income) which states that amounts received in relation to services rendered – even if it is a voluntary award – will be included in gross income and subject to tax.

Since a professional esports athletes would either be seen as an employee of, or as an an independent contractor, of the company for which he/she plays (see The basics about contracts for esports athletes) if such employee receives a reward related to his job function, it will be considered gross income as it is linked to services rendered.

Thus winning prize money in a competition if you are a professional esports athlete would  be seen by revenue authorities (SARS) as being related to a job function.

Whether the prize could be cash or otherwise, the prize will still be subject to tax.

If it is a non-cash prize, the monetary worth of that specific item will be included in gross income and subject to tax.

Thus it stands to reason that all companies paying prize monies to professional athletes, and/or to the companies  for which they play, must satisfy themselves that they are complying to SARS rules. The companies receiving such prize money (which often call themselves MGO's) running professional teams need to register with the revenue authorities in regard to declaring their winnings and the withholding of tax on their athletes.

Additional reading:

• 2026 Calendar of events
• AEC24 - Champions of all of Africa - Protea Female Counter Strike 2 Esports Team wins AEC24
• AEC24 - Forged in battle - a Counter Strike story...
• AEC24 - Thato Maredi outperforms Bafana Bafana!
• Affiliation: Private Clubs
• Affiliation - Procedure to be followed by school clubs affiliating for the 2026 season.
• ACES - Avenging Bafana
• ACES - Thato advances to the knock-out stages!
• Events - Northern Cape Online Esports Provincial Championships - 24 January 2026.
• GEF - Clash Royale esports athletes may win a trip to Mumbai....
  
• National Team Trials - Who qualifies for MSSA National Team Trials?
  
• Results - Northern Cape Online Esports Provincial Championships - 24 January 2026.
• Sportsmanship Award - Sportsmanship Award - Northern Cape Online Esports Provincial Championships
• Streaming - Streaming of MSSA's Northern Cape Online Championships for the MLBB esports title.

Athlete's rights:

• Is a professional gamer in South Africa entitled to a salary?
• Professional esports athletes must register for tax.

Procedure to be followed by private clubs affiliating for the 2026 season.

The 2025 Female Protea Team for the Mobile League of Legends Bang Bang esports title resplendent in the purple Protea shirts...

Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) is the national federation for Board games, Card games, Esports, Phygital games, and Wargames.

MSSA promotes all  the different disciplines equally, although each affiliated club may pick-and-choose which discipline it wishes to promote in its club. Some clubs will promote the whole gambit, while others will concentrate on only one discipline, and/or even just concentrate on one specific title.

The choice is ultimately up to the member club.

The various mind sports offer unique opportunities to many South Africans. Many South Africans have been able to earn Regional, Provincial, and National Colours which have allowed them to earn bursaries and obtain first-class educations.

MSSA has sent teams with full Protea Colours to international events since 1991 for wargames, 1996 for Morabaraba, 1997 for Checkers, and 2005 for Esports. 

All selected have found being part of the national team to be an education in itself.. 

All clubs must be legal bodies, as well as being non-profit organizations. Thus each club needs to have a founding document. Associations may use the draft constitution as provided below.

It is the club that is the member of MSSA, while the players are affiliated to the club.

Any applicant needs to be aware of the following:

• MSSA’s Constitution, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S8LogUNBbPNtfjjjukwvBiSr1u9qHOodLXhvBzZqzIk/edit
• MSSA’s General Regulations, ttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1GcOB2rTjv9PjBHhgdRH824NahSI4SrmfjvecaQiLNyA/edit 
• Proforma Constitution - (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z-V4MJUAK8vec9XAp4zXXEREnvdrYFfy/edit?rtpof=true) this is a draft constitution that is used by many clubs affiliated to MSSA, 
• Application for Affiliation form,  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yZfu6g5tSAk8gAgHWe3U7Unkk33_u8xa/edit
• Registration Forms for all players – including administrators and any/all coaches, 
  https://docs.google.com/document/d/12sS0BkXNT2rjVROicwYHOEhJcPj0WXtG/edit?rtpof=true
• Fee note  
  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UyPFzb0Sf4jVQrN57GEtyJ1Av7iPZRB6/edit
• Letter of Undertaking, 
  https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/0B1ma4A2XZaSiR2hJMThjMUxDdVE?resourcekey=0--HnFEMz7HwCX-mdPZ0sxjw  and
• MSSA's brochure. 
  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ZzfT280fxlzP5m22Z4wJAHWBGtNpkJAY

In order to affiliate, the completed Application for affiliation Form must be submitted to the MSSA.

Once the Board has approved a club’s affiliation, the club then needs to complete the Google Registration Page allocated to the club for the players and make payment.

All club members may participate in all events for which it qualifies. Such events include meetings, championships, courses, and so forth. 

Advantages of having a MSSA affiliated club: 

There are many advantages of having a MSSA affiliated club, such as:

1. Being part of a community where your club has a real say in how things are done
2. Being able to apply for National Lottery Funding – MSSA member clubs can apply for up to R800,000.00 in funding
3. Being able to get assistance from your local government
4. Experience increased media exposure of your events and your gamers
5. Become part of the international community through the MSSA Registered players are able to become internationally recognised umpires, etc.
6. Enable your gamers to take part in MSSA events, which may qualify them for Regional, Provincial, and National colours, overseas trips, and even sports bursaries at university.

MSSA’s Constitution   

The Constitution forms the foundation of the MSSA. It guarantees members rights and governs the way that the MSSA operates. It can only be amended by a two-thirds majority at a Council Meeting. Please remember that Associations only have two (2) votes each, whereas member clubs have a representational vote, being: normal clubs: one vote per every five registered players, and school clubs: one vote per every ten registered players.

MSSA’s General Regulations   

The General Regulations comprises of decisions made by both Council and Executive Committee Meetings. The General Regulations deals with how sub-committees operate as well as to how teams are selected and development funding is distributed. Please refer to Schedule 10.12 in regard to the rights of clubs in hosting events.

MSSA’s Discipline Specific Regulations   

The Discipline Specific Regulations deal with rules concerning the different disciplines. The Disciplines that the MSSA caters for are; Board Gaming, Card gaming, Esports, and Figure Gaming.

Application for Affiliation form   

When a club applies for membership, the applicant club must complete such form and return the same to the MSSA.

Fee note for 2026

The fee note details the Affiliation Fees and Registration fees that are payable.

Player Registration Form   

The Player Registration Form needs to be completed by every player that is a member of a club and intends to participate in MSSA affairs.

MSSA’s Letter of Undertaking   

The Letter of Undertaking is for all registered players who sit on any MSSA committee.

Social Media

The MSSA makes use of the following:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindsportssa

• South African Esports Group page (with over 39,000 followers): https://www.facebook.com/groups/494673430594011
• Twitter: @mindsportssa
• Intstagram: @mindsportssouthafrica
• Blog page: https://esportscommentator.blogspot.com/

Should you have any queries whatsoever, please contact mindsportscorrespondence@gmail.com.

Additional reading:

• 2026 Calendar of events
• Affiliation: Private Clubs
• Affiliation - Procedure to be followed by school clubs affiliating for the 2026 season.
• ACES - Avenging Bafana

IeSF 2014 World Championships - Baku: Dota 2 athletes

And the athletes in Dota 2 are:

Austria	Bernhard, Buresch	WhatATeam	iNsaNe	1992
	Bernhard, Wallner	WhatATeam	Bnni	1991
	Daniel, Zencz	WhatATeam	Heinz Fissure	1989
	Markus, Mischka	WhatATeam	Bestling	1992
	Matthias, Meindorfer	WhatATeam	Mr. Bombastic	1992
Azerbaijan	Elshad, Valizada	StarPerci	SMY	1984
	Jalil, Mammadov	StarPerci	Divi	1989
	Kenan, Gadirli	StarPerci	HOT	1991
	Emin, Ismailov	StarPerci	vRiTra^	1995
	Dzhavid, Mamedyarov	StarPerci	Ws	1993
China	ZHIHAO, CHEN	TEAM CHINA	Hao	1990
	JIAO, WANG	TEAM CHINA	banana	1987
	ZHANG, WANG	TEAM CHINA	Rabbit	1994
	ZHAOHUI, WANG	TEAM CHINA	Sansheng	1989
	PAN, ZHANG	TEAM CHINA	Mu	1989
Egypt	METWALY, Ahmed	Team Egypt	Rain	1987
	Hassan, Hassan	Team Egypt	Elliot	1992
	Fouad, Ahmed	Team Egypt	Paglo	1991
	Shehata, Ahmed	Team Egypt	Spade	1989
	Abdelfattah , Hazem	Team Egypt	KKzOr	1994
Finland	Ville, Tuomi	Team Finland	Okke-Virtahepo	1988
	Joona, Laine	Team Finland	fragi	1990
	Lawrence, Simon	Team Finland	hopis	1990
	Jesse, Vainikka	Team Finland	jerAx	1992
	Kalle, Saarinen	Team Finland	Trixi	1989
Georgia	Vakhtang, Zhgenti	Georgia	Davy Jones	1993
	Omar, Jangavadze	Georgia	Omar	1995
	Boris, Badashvili	Georgia	Oldsnake	1996
	Luka, Gelashvili	Georgia	Yamaoka	1995
	Oleg, Lodia	Georgia	Oga	1992
Korea (South)	SANG DON, LEE	Team Korea	Forev	1991
	SEUNG GON, LEE	Team Korea	Heen	1987
	TAEWON, PARK	Team Korea	March	1988
	SUN YEOB, KIM	Team Korea	QO	1993
	JUNYEONG, LEE	Team Korea	Reisen	1993
Mongolia	ENKH-OD, Nergui	MongolZ	Sanke	1992
	TURMANDAKH, Uurtsaikh	MongolZ	Storm[mN]	1990
	TULGA, Tumen-Ulzii	MongolZ	Huntsman	1990
	ULAMBAYAR, Erdenesoyol	MongolZ	Umba	1992
	TUGULDUR, Bat-Erdene	MongolZ	Tuguldur	1991
Norway	Mats, Myrold	Norge	teLLem	1994
	Bjørn, Noor	Norge	Vibah	1986
	Henrik, Larsen	Norge	Sundelin	1989
	Jarle, Sivertsen	Norge	SaloiG	1992
	Joakim, Johansen	Norge	jOOOEY	1992
Romania	Andrei, Zisu	TeamRO	Zizzou	1990
	Razvan, Borceanu	TeamRO	Illusionist	1993
	Andrei Nicolae, Grigorie	TeamRO	Keyano	1993
	Andrei Razvan, Strat	TeamRO	Synergy	1997
	Omar, Aliwi	TeamRO	w33ha	1995
Russia	Semen, Matyushko	Click-Storm	Sene4ka	1997
	Denis, Leynish	Click-Storm	Denque	1996
	Dmirtiy, Ilyin	Click-Storm	Black_Death	1995
	Alexander, Sergeev	Click-Storm	Babunjke	1993
	Dmitriy, Baryshkin	Click-Storm	DIE	1993
South Africa	Ion, Todd	MSSA	NOTION	1993
	Jason, Bredberg	MSSA	Mehcrim	1993
	Dylan, Henderson	MSSA	PIXELPUSHA	1993
	TIMOTHY, VAN REENEN MOSTERT	MSSA	ZEALOT	1993
	ION, TODD	MSSA	NOTION	1993
Sweden	Tobias, Everhorn	4 Friends & Chrillee	eresloco	1989
	Staffan, Solin	4 Friends & Chrillee	Steffstyle	1996
	Christopher, Wåhlin	4 Friends & Chrillee	Chrillee	1991
	Carl-Philip, Strängby	4 Friends & Chrillee	strangby	1990
	Jesper, Göthe	4 Friends & Chrillee	Frigoleet	1993
Tunisia	Mohamed Aymen, Halouani	Raze	Blood	1990
	Khalil, Saadellaoui	Raze	Hayaku	1995
	Mahdi, Mzoughi	Raze	Bingooo	1990
	Alhoussine, Hammas	Raze	Flash	1990
	Manef, Ben Rjab	Raze	Link	1992

Information provided by the IeSF.