Performance-enhancement in esports – Players’ perspectives on prevalence, legitimacy, governance and regulations

The continuing success of esports as a mass phenomenon is accompanied by an increase in challenges regarding governance and regulation as well as integrity. Besides match-fixing and software/hardware cheating, the consumption of performance-enhancing substances by esports players continues to cause negative publicity for the industry. While the number of scholarly contributions on this topic increases, there still is a clear lack of empirical studies that take the perspectives of players into account. In an online survey, we reached 226 esports (Defense of the Ancients 2, DotA 2) players, inquiring about the (perceived) prevalence and legitimacy of alleged performance-enhancing substances as well as aspects relating to governance, integrity, and regulation. Our results disclose a widespread self-reported use of caffeinated drinks and nicotine, with a notable proportion of participants reporting occasional or rare use of prescription drugs. Besides substance use, participants identified match-fixing and cheating as significant challenges to the integrity of esports. The results further indicate a lack of awareness of global governing/regulatory bodies by esports players and underscore the need for enforced regulation and concerted governance initiatives.