Cheating in esports

Cheating in esports is a deliberate violation of the rules of an esports governing body or other behavior that is intended to give an unfair advantage to a player or team. At its core, esports are video game competitions in an organized, competitive environment. Tournaments often pay out prize money to the highest placing teams in these events, giving players an incentive to cheat. Commonly cited instances of cheating include the use of software cheats, such as aimbots and wallhacks, exploitation of bugs, use of performance-enhancing drugs, such as Ritalin and Adderall, and match fixing.

Unlike traditional sports, esports may not be recognized as official sports in many countries, leading to a lack of standardized regulations. Additionally, video game developers and individual tournament organizers may have differing approaches to enforcement, leading to inconsistencies in handling cheating incidents. Several global governing bodies, such as the Esports Integrity Commission, have made efforts to establish and enforce integrity policies, but they have largely been unsuccessful.

Esports involve professional teams competing in organized, competitive video games. Similar to traditional sports, these professional esports players are often signed by esports organizations to participate in leagues and tournaments. Various video game genres are associated with esports, including first-person shooters, multiplayer online battle arenas (MOBAs), and sports video games. Some esports events attract millions of viewers, with fans having the option to watch live broadcasts on platforms like Twitch and ESPN, or attend the events in person at arenas. Substantial prize money is awarded to the top-performing teams in these tournaments. For instance, in 2021, Dota 2's The International featured a prize pool exceeding US$47 million. Given the potential for significant financial gain, players may be tempted to resort to cheating.

In contrast to traditional major league sports like FIFA for association football and NFL for American football, esports lacks centralization under a single governing body. Unlike these sports leagues, which are self-regulated and guided by established statutes, case law, and national or state regulations, esports operates with a considerable degree of autonomy. The absence of widespread recognition of esports as an official sport in many countries poses challenges for implementing comprehensive regulation. Consequently, the responsibility of rule-setting in esports tournaments usually falls to the individual organizers, with their guidelines subject to approval from the respective video game developers.

Esports competitions are regulated by two main types of entities: game-neutral and game-specific organizations. The game-neutral entities, such as the World Esports Association (WESA), the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC), the International Esports Federation (IESF), and the Electronic Sports League (ESL), are responsible for enforcing policies across various esports titles. Despite their efforts to regulate the esports industry, they have faced challenges in achieving comprehensive success. As of 2019, ESIC emerged as the leading regulatory body, dedicated to enforcing ethical standards in esports. However, it is not universally adopted, as participation in ESIC is optional for leagues and organizations. ESIC considers software cheats, online attacks, match-fixing, and doping as the most significant forms of cheating. On the other hand, game-specific entities focus solely on a single esports title and are typically controlled by the respective game's publisher. Prominent examples of such entities include the Overwatch League, the League of Legends Championship Series, and the Call of Duty League.

Cheating in esports can be broadly categorized into two types: cheating to win and cheating to lose. Cheating to win involves attempting to gain an unfair advantage over opponents through illegitimate means. Common forms include using software cheats, online attacks, and doping. Cheating to lose refers to intentionally underperforming or losing a match, usually for financial gain. It can be achieved through actions like match fixing, corrupting officials, spot-fixing, and manipulating tournament structures.

One prevalent form of cheating in esports involves the use of unauthorized software, commonly known as software cheats. These cheats provide players with an unfair advantage over their opponents, compromising the integrity of the competition. One notable type of software cheat is the aimbot, a program designed to automatically target opponents with superior speed and accuracy compared to human capabilities. Esports servers commonly employ built-in anti-cheat software to detect and prevent the use of these illicit practices. However, some sophisticated cheats may still evade detection.

An illustrative example of a player utilizing software assistance is the case of Counter-Strike (CS) player XektoR. During German ESL Pro Series online matches in 2008, XektoR exhibited exceptional performance. However, during in-person events, his gameplay performance significantly declined. Upon reviewing replay data analytics, ESL members discovered evidence of XektoR using an aimbot and wallhacks during the online matches, resulting in a two-year ban for the player. Following this ban, XektoR's team took ESL to the District Court of Cologne. While the court did not make a statement on whether XektoR cheated or not, they deemed the measures taken by ESL as appropriate.