Doping in Esports: An International Solution to the Problem that no one is Talking About
Not that long ago, esports was for gamer nerds. Everyone plays video games every once in a while, but COMPETITIVE gaming was for people with poor hygiene living in their parents’ basement. Today, esports is a billion-dollar entertainment industry growing at an astronomical pace — it is expected to generate nearly $5 billion by 2030. That is more money than the National Hockey League or La Liga.
With that money comes increased pressure to win. With that pressure to win comes something that we have increasingly seen in other sports: doping.
A few weeks ago, Rise Esports CEO Geison Greff accused a top PUBG team from Brazil of using performance-enhancing drugs during official tournaments. The drug allegedly used is called Venvanse and is said to increase the ability to pay attention and stay focused. Many believe that such drugs — Adderall, Vyvanse, Ritalin, etc. — unfairly help gamers stay locked in during a long day of competing. SonicFox — one of the best fighting gamers in the world — was accused of abusing Adderall last year. OG, a professional Dota 2 team, was accused of using Adderall in 2020.
There are two problems with the previous paragraph. The first is the repeated use of the word “accused.” Despite credible evidence (SonicFox even admitted to using Adderall to treat ADHD), none of the three were punished for their sins. If anyone investigated, they kept their research private. Doping enforcement in esports is virtually nonexistent.
The second problem is that no one is even talking about doping. I had to dig deep into Google News to find three examples of esports doping accusations in the last three years. The lack of discussion is not because of a lack of drug use. On the contrary, one gamer told the Washington Post that “nobody talks about it because everyone is on it.” HighDistortion, a popular streamer, claimed that “easily over half the players” are using while playing Gears of War. Esports today looks like early 2000s Major League Baseball: everyone knows about the drug use, but nobody is ready to talk about it. Instead, we have collectively pulled a Bud Selig and buried our heads in the sand.
So, here is an article saying, “let’s talk about it!” Even better, here is an article with a solution. One of the primary reasons that there has been no anti-doping enforcement is that esports are fragmented between various leagues — as opposed to major league sports, which typically have a central governing body. These leagues do not have the capacity or will to self-govern in this regard. There are several regulatory bodies looking to dominate this space, but they are all in their infancy and have no leverage to convince the large game publishers to become signatories. But there already is an international body prepared to standardize and promulgate esports doping rules: The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
At least, that is the argument put forth by attorney and entertainment law scholar Oluwatamilore ‘Tami’ Fashina. In his article, Doping in Esports: How and to What Extent can we Look to WADA for Guidance, Fashina argues that esports should turn to WADA, an organization founded by the International Olympic Committee that handles drug testing for many of the largest international sports events and tournaments. WADA has the clout and credibility to protect the interests of all stakeholders, including the most vulnerable: the talent. Comprehensive anti-doping reform through WADA could even serve as a potential path to the Olympics for esports.
See him discuss these issues on the podcast Brewin’ Black below:
