What are the ethical issues in esports?

Esports is not perfect in any shape or form, in fact with increasing popularity, it is suffering from most of the similar ethical issues as any traditional sport. Apart from trash talking and friendly banter, there are much deeper issues. In order to counter these issues, governments have set up regulation bodies.

Tournament organizers have laid down dedicated rules, that are followed for the most part, but as any other sport, everything isn’t perfect. It is also up to the organizers and players to ensure a fair game and make the community a safe space.

Here are some of the ethical issues plaguing the esports industry -

5. Gambling

People can now bet on esports like any other sports, actually, they could since the beginning but the rise in popularity of esports have piqued the interest of gamblers this way. Gambling platforms now also have their own esports teams competing in events. Furthermore, many esports events and teams are also sponsored by gambling companies.

While all this may allow many more tournaments, it also raises the question regarding integrity, which we will discuss further. Gambling and betting can also cause financial harm, with many countries suffering from high amounts of problem gamblers. However, this is only one of the few ethical issues related to esports.

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4. Tournament Integrity

In esports, there is also a risk to the tournament integrity. This can come from the players and the organizers and further raises the finger at the industry. There have been many cases of players match-fixing, mostly due to the opponents or the fixer providing better benefits.

In the case of organizers, there have been many straight-up delaying prize distribution, hosting shady tournaments and making questionable decisions. These activities have been in decline, especially with most of the events now being hosted by reputed organizers. However, the problem isn’t completely gone in low-tier events.

3. Doping

Much like traditional sports, esports players are often criticized for taking Performance-Enhancing Drugs (PED). While not the same one as in traditional sports, they are meant to gain an advantage over the opponents. Drugs like Adderall are reportedly been used by players to increase performance and reaction times, which are very important during a game.

For this reason, esports events, especially the ones hosted with other physical sports events, have mandated a drug test even for esports players. Players who are caught using these drugs are barred from taking part in these esports events.

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2. Exploitation

Player exploitation is another serious issue in esports, as oftentimes new/young players are made to sign contracts that bound them into horrible conditions. Players are subjected to intense practice sessions with minimal rest, leading to mental and physical burnout. Furthermore, they are also paid less than they deserve, leading to financial issues. Esports is basically a job for pro players, so in a sense, it is creating a toxic work environment.

This issue is much more prevalent in the lower tier organizations, however, that does not lower the importance of player protection. Thankfully, players can now contest the terms and conditions. It is also often advised that players should take advice from a legal expert before jumping the gun and signing any contracts.

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1. Cheating

Possibly the most common ethical in any esports, cheaters can be found anywhere. These types of players use external cheating software that gives them an advantage over their opponents. Some common cheats are wall hacking which allows cheaters to see your location, another form of wall hacking is radar hacks where cheaters are permanently able to see your location on radar.

While these may not be prevalent in higher levels of tournaments, regional and open qualifiers for the same have seen multiple instances of teams cheating. Counter-Strike recently changed how they host events and removed open qualifiers from three regions due to cheaters.

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