Mentioned in this article Teams: Cloud9

Just recently, the German parliament fired off a warning shot towards sportsmen who play foul. A new anti-doping law, which will most likely become effective next year, states that athletes that abuse drugs can end up in jail for up to three years. Their dealers can be charged with up to ten years in prison. It’s time for esports to realize the real impact that its lack of regulation in this area will result in.

Since the “Semphis-incident” in summer, the scene has become more attune to the fact that doping is a thing in esports. Kory “Semphis” Friesen admitted that he and his former teammates from Cloud9, among other esports pro-players, had used the amphetamine Adderall at an ESL event to improve their performance. ESL, in response, introduced a severe anti-doping policy, with the help of multiple anti-doping agencies.

This decision was followed by a huge public discussion about the pros and cons. To quote myself: “Those arguing against the decision bring up concerns like missing accuracy, disproportionality and player harassment while anti-doping advocates welcome it as a step towards higher integrity and healthiness of the sport.” The first major with doping controls was ESL One Cologne, which ended with negative results for all tested players. Of course, this doesn’t mean that doping has disappeared from esports.

Esports lawyer Daniel A. Spitze, who wrote a legal opinion about the ESL policy, said: “One event is certainly not enough to conclude that there is no problem. Furthermore, it has to be kept in mind that the participants only represent a small fraction of the scene.” Esports journalist Richard Lewis spoke at length about extensive doping and drug abuse he witnessed in the scene. It is safe to assume that doping is taking place in esports, even if nobody has gotten caught yet by the relatively small scene-wide moves to curtail the activity.

In light of the above, this new German anti-doping law could become a topic of highly explosive force for the esports industry. The majority of esports professionals and fans alike make every effort to officially approve their beloved electronic sport as “a real sport”. TV deals to broaden the audience and go mainstream, business conferences to show off professionalism, lobbying and petitions to persuade politicians, and countless public battles are being fought over just one question: “Is this a real sport?”

But now, some may want to reconsider. With the French government recognizing esports, other european countries may follow, among them Germany and Sweden, where the esports industry is ever-present. If so, things will get interesting. Quite likely, a series of events could happen:

Other esports tournament organisers and league operators establish rulings like ESL did. Extensive doping tests for every major event and every professional league are performed. Following this, a doped player gets caught. His supplier gets unveiled. Respective player and his dealer get prosecuted, face trial and might land up in jail for several years.

Suddenly, we are not just talking about players rights and disparity of power, but about criminal acts. Do we really want esports to become real sports? If so, we better start growing up and face the realities that come along with that status. I think it’s still a long way up until this industry reaches maturity, and I don’t want to see a player going to jail for playing video games competitively. Let’s take one step at a time and fix more urgent issues than recognition as a sport before we stumble on the home stretch.