Journal profile
Entertainment and Sports Law Journal
ISSN 1748-944X · University of Westminster Press · United Kingdom
Entertainment and Sports Law Journal: diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review about 14 weeks (community reports); 8 articles in 2025.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Entertainment and Sports Law Journal is published by University of Westminster Press. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Physical Education and Sports Studies, Sports Analytics and Performance and Intellectual Property Rights and Media, together about 39.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science and Law. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Entertainment and Sports Law Journal is a refereed online journal. It is located within a dynamic and rapidly expanding area of legal theory and practice. Whilst focussed within legal study, the areas it encompasses are necessarily interdisciplinary. Entertainment Law, Media Law, Sports Law, IP Law, Licensing Law – these are all subjects that are taught at undergraduate and postgraduate level at increasing numbers of Law Schools in the UK and beyond. Areas that are of interest to the Journal include the ways in which the Law intersects with, or the regulatory frameworks that exists within, the following industries: Music Sport Cinema/Film Theatre/Literature Internet (both creation and distribution) Social Media Gaming The night time economy Art Gambling This list should not be seen as exhaustive, but as indicative of the potential areas of interest embracing different theoretical approaches and/or empirical work. In short the journal's wide range of subject matter naturally encompasses different perspectives and innovative approaches to the material are warmly encouraged. The broadest aim of the journal is to provide an environment for considered discourse of this growing field of study. Whilst such discourse will generally be from an academic perspective, we also welcome material that stresses the practice dimension to the area and the interaction between theory and practice. We encourage submissions from across the world that embrace ground-breaking methods to dissemination and the Editors will be happy to discuss ideas for submission outside of the traditional article. We are particularly interested in work that adopts an interdisciplinary approach to the area as we believe that these areas of entertainment are particularly fruitful vehicles for this approach.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 9 (9 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Physical Education and Sports StudiesSocial Sciences21.3%
- Sports Analytics and PerformanceEconomics, Econometrics and Finance9.5%
- Intellectual Property Rights and MediaSocial Sciences9.1%
- Intellectual Property LawSocial Sciences6.2%
- Sports, Gender, and SocietySocial Sciences4.9%
- Doping in SportsSocial Sciences4.4%
- Law in Society and CultureSocial Sciences4.4%
- Law, Rights, and FreedomsSocial Sciences4.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
DOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
abstracted via EBSCO, in Hein OnlinePublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- h-index
- 14OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 25OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.54OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 223 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | 2 | 40 |
| 2025 | 8 | 8 | 60 |
| 2024 | 3 | 3 | 43 |
| 2023 | 4 | 4 | 53 |
| 2022 | 1 | 1 | 22 |
| 2021 | 5 | 5 | 44 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 14 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 14 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — | |
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- ≤ 6
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- Harvard
Article types accepted12, with length limits
- book reviewResearch articles must describe the outcomes and application of unpublished original research. These should make a substantial contribution to knowledge and und…Length not stated
- book reviews and reviewsBook Reviews and Reviews (of books, films, music, conferences) can cover topics connected to current controversies or the historical development of studies as w…Length not stated
- commentariesCommentaries should reflect upon or critique a specific "happening" such as a release of a major study, an important legal case or piece of legislation or other…Length not stated
- commentaryResearch articles must describe the outcomes and application of unpublished original research. These should make a substantial contribution to knowledge and und…Length not stated
- interventionsInterventions articles offer detailed opinion pieces or arguments or reflections on contemporary or topical developments or reappraisals of aspects of establish…Length not stated
- multimediaThe journal is also open to submissions in unconventional formats: audio, video etc.Length not stated
- opinionResearch articles must describe the outcomes and application of unpublished original research. These should make a substantial contribution to knowledge and und…Length not stated
- original researchResearch articles must describe the outcomes and application of unpublished original research. These should make a substantial contribution to knowledge and und…Length not stated
- research articleResearch articles must describe the outcomes and application of unpublished original research. These should make a substantial contribution to knowledge and und…main text ≤ 6,000 words
- research articlesResearch articles must describe the outcomes and application of unpublished original research. These should make a substantial contribution to knowledge and und…Length not stated
- reviewResearch articles must describe the outcomes and application of unpublished original research. These should make a substantial contribution to knowledge and und…Length not stated
- review articleResearch articles must describe the outcomes and application of unpublished original research. These should make a substantial contribution to knowledge and und…main text ≤ 3,000 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteConflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- Conflicts of interest Competing interests
Competing interests must be declared; if none, a standard statement should be present. Model summary
If the author(s) has/have any competing interests then these must be declared. A short paragraph should be placed before the references. If there are no competing interests to declare then the following statement should be present: The author(s) has/have no competing interests to declare.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Research involving human subjects must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki and include ethics approval statements. Model summary
Research involving human subjects, human material, or human data, must have been performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Where applicable, the studies must have been approved by an appropriate ethics committee and the authors should include a statement within the article text detailing this approval, including the name of the ethics committee and reference number of the approval.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright Notice
Authors who publish with this journal hereby agree to the following terms: You agree to grant to us (University of Westminster Press) the right both to reproduce and/or distribute your article (including the abstract) ourselves throughout the world in printed, electronic (Open Access) forms, or any other medium. You agree that we may publish your article in the journal named above. You warrant tha…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access
Open access, refereed journal published by University of Westminster Press (UWP). Model summary
The Entertainment and Sports Law Journal (ESLJ) is an open access, refereed journal published by University of Westminster Press (UWP).
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review
All articles submitted to the Entertainment and Sports Law Journal are initially assessed by an editor, who decides whether or not the article is suitable for peer review. Submissions considered suitable for peer review are assigned to one or more independent experts, who assess the article for clarity, validity, and sound methodology. The Entertainment and Sports Law Journal operates a blind peer…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- University of Westminster Press
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1748-944X
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Entertainment and Sports Law Journal
How long does peer review take at Entertainment and Sports Law Journal?
Authors report an average review time of about 14 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Entertainment and Sports Law Journal?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: ≤ 6; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: Harvard. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Entertainment and Sports Law Journal based?
Of the 9 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (9). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Entertainment and Sports Law Journal?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Entertainment and Sports Law Journal is indexed in DOAJ.
Is Entertainment and Sports Law Journal open access, and what is the APC?
Entertainment and Sports Law Journal is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .