The study analyzes the professional sports sector as a specific industry contributing to the mass sports progress in the country, with a special attention to the key aspects of the sport industry in its modern definitions including the following: investments/ sponsorships; commercial applications of copyrights including brand names, trademarks etc.; direct commercial activities like sales of tickets to the sport events, their broadcasting rights etc.; and other relevant activities including merchandizing ones. It is underlined that no legal protection of the national sport industry can guarantee its high profitability. The industry development initiatives, therefore, will be geared to create and maintain a reasonable balance of interests of the sport industry and mass sports; with this balance secured by a special legal platform setting forth the frame legal fields for activity of every actor in the sector. © 2018, Teoriya i praktika fizicheskoy kul'tury i sporta. All rights reserved.