Esports, a relatively new phenomenon and challenger to traditional sports, has experienced remarkable growth and is expected to reach even higher levels by 2022, with projected expenses of more than a billion dollars. Esports is sometimes misunderstood as being more competitive than online gaming. Individuals or teams participate in esports competitions for the chance to win video games broadcast on recent free streaming platforms.
Why do esports players take Adderall?
Adderall is a medicine that is used to treat severe depressive disorder, according to WebMD (ADHD). The use of such drugs raises questions about the competitive integrity of esports and whether tournament organizers and publishers are doing enough to prevent drug misuse.
In esports, how widespread is doping?
In multiple esports matches, professional players have spoken out about how common drug usage is in professional esports. The Overwatch League’s general manager, Timo “Taimou” Kettunen, said in November 2018 that over 20 players in the league were using Adderall. Surprisingly, there was no drug testing in the Overwatch League, which was one of the most popular esports events in 2018-2019.
It’s difficult to determine how common the issue is unless esports pros openly discuss it before to the esports championship, which there is presently no way to do.
The differences between e-doping and classic doping modes
E-doping, as opposed to conventional doping (which is also done in esports events), has a recent difficulty in that it often goes undetected since esports players communicate over an electronic medium, making it impossible to identify if they are drugged or not.
Traditional doping involves the use of medications such as Adderall, Ritalin, Selegiline, and other ‘performance-enhancing chemicals,’ and is analogous to doping in popular sports.
Mechanical doping, on the other hand, is an intriguing approach of cheating the esports system in which, rather than boosting the physical and mental potentials of players, efforts are concentrated on fixing the machines utilized in esports events through software or hardware deceit.
What law was created to prevent the increase of e-doping?
In nations like Poland, esports has been incorporated into the new definition of a recent sport in the form of an esports championship based on “intellectual activity.” Another example is South Korea, where the KeSPA, as previously stated, monitors esports matches and allows for the linking of virtual accounts to real people in order to assign guilt in situations of serious criminal behavior. Another Korean regulation that punishes anybody found guilty of boosting revenue is the Game Industry Promotion Act (2006).
Anti-cheating software is also being used in esports contests to tackle the e-doping menace. Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) is one such technology that allows regulating bodies to track esports players’ keyboard and mouse movements to guarantee that they accurately depict what the player is doing. The Esports Integrity Commission has banned dextroamphetamine (Adderall and Adderall XR), as well as other ADHD and anxiety medications (ESIC). Other esports events, on the other hand, cannot make the same claim. PED testing was available in the ESL Pro League for CS: GO, however with the COVID-19 outbreak, LAN tournaments are no longer a possibility.
Conclusion
Despite significant attempts by regulating bodies throughout the world to regulate esports teams and e-doping, they have mostly proven ineffective and unable to deal with the myriad of concerns that have arisen as a result of the increased use of online media. Because the digital world continues to be a major grey area in terms of the depths to which it can go, esports developers and country regulatory authorities must design regulations preventing its exploitation and stringent execution, as well as adequate sanctions for esports players, to ensure that esports events can flourish with all of their advantages in a healthy positive marketplace while maintaining a high level.