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[Piecake]

There are whispers of a darker side to “eSports,” though: admissions of performance-enhancing drug use and, now, allegations of unregulated and underage gambling.

In July, though, Kory Friesen, a Counter-Strike player known as “Semphis,” told an interviewer that he and team-mates “were all on Adderall,” a stimulant typically used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, during a competition in Poland. He then told the New York Times that did not necessarily make his team win: “You don’t just take Adderall and instantly become better,” Friesen said. He did not reply when asked to comment by Bloomberg.

This kind of gambling – licensed, regulated, and by adults, is generally accepted in eSports. There is growing concern, though, that teenagers are being attracted to different forms of betting facilitated by third-party providers.

One such platform is CSGO Lounge (an independent site not affiliated with Valve Software, which develops the game itself). The site allows spectators to bet in-game add-ons known as skins – weapons, tools and the like – on the results of matches. Not all skins are created equal, and the rarity of some means they can cost hundreds of real dollars on marketplace sites like SkinXchange.com. The temptation is too much for some.

“Underage gambling is a huge problem,” SkinXchange lead developer Justin Carlson said in an e-mail, adding that he has had to call “countless” parents whose children have taken their credit cards without their knowledge. They use the cards to buy skins and bet on gaming on other sites. Many have “racked up hundreds or thousands of dollars in skins on SkinXchange just to lose them all on some betting or jackpot site,” Carlson said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...video-gaming-has-an-underage-gambling-problem

Interesting. I never really gave eSports much thought so I had no idea that there was a problem with drug use and underage gambling.

So, is it a problem? If so, what should be done about it?

Personally, I think stopping underage gambling makes sense since teenagers have shit impulse control and are basically wired to take more risks, all of which is not good for gambling, especially when it isnt your own money.

 

[GoldenEye 007]

Underage gambling and alcohol/drug use is already illegal, though.

 

[Trike]

finally, now it is a real sport.

 

[sikkinixx]

The amount of, especially Korean exchange, students I've seen or overheard talking about gambling on League games is nuts. Just anecdotal.

 

[Conor_Fool]

When I read drug abuse I immediately thought of adderall, no surprise there. Back in the day when I would play Halo 3, adderall meant a 20-5 spread rather than a 5-20.

 

[HORRORSHØW]

adderall is like pharm-grade meth so no surprises there. it'll help with reaction times and concentration.

 

[Aylinato]

It's already had a gambling problem as seen in Starcraft with fixed matches

 

[antonz]

Yep drug abuse is no surprise. Have known several people who would take various things to ensure they were on their toes at all times with various games.

 

[sixghost]

Pro players taking Adderall has been an open secret since the early days of MLG in 2002 or 2003. I wouldn't be surprised if it had been around even longer with the early PC scenes like 1.6 and Quake. Professional baseball even had a problem with amphetamines in the 80s.

 

[mmazurkiewicz]

When I read drug abuse I immediately thought of adderall, no surprise there. Back in the day when I would play Halo 3, adderall meant a 20-5 spread rather than a 5-20.

i'd go 20-5 with no PEDs. you're a noob.

 

[old]

It may be un-prescribed adderall today, but I've known a number of parents who must have taken their kids to what seemed like a 100 doctors before they got them the ADHD diagnosis they were looking for. I imagine esport athletes will do the exact same thing if they need to get a diagnosis to ride amphetamines all through a tournament. They'll hit doctor after doctor and eventually learn what to say and do to get the diagnosis they want.

Hell, MMA dealt with something similar. Up until recently fighters diagnosed with low testosterone were allowed to take testosterone supplements and still fight. Suddenly, a whole bunch of musclebound fighters who spent all day punching other guys "had low testosterone" and were on doctor prescribed testosterone supplements. UFC had to finally call bullshit on it and ban it. If you actually do have low testosterone--sucks to be you--but they're not going to keep a loophole open that just encourages athletes to shop around for agreeable doctors.

And I'm almost certain the exact same thing will happen here if they ban adderall but still allow it for those with prescriptions. Esport athletes will start networking and trading names of doctors to find the ones (even ones hundreds or thousands of miles away) who get a reputation for being loose and fast with ADD and ADHD diagnoses. They'll get the pills they want and we're right back to where we are now. It should be banned and banned for everybody, prescription or not.

 

[John Kowalski]

Esports has had a running narrative of exploitative behaviour towards minors and young adults.

Frankly the developers should take steps to avoid these things, and were they not to do what they should on their own, laws should exist to force them to do it.

 

[wildfire]

The article says whispers as if this is something you only knew about if you were behnd the scenes, players or event organizers for example. In reality it's openly acknowledged that people use drugs to compete (which is why ESL is cracking down on it with random tests) and gamble (which is why various players or entire teams get shunned for at least a year if caught match fixing).

The real problem is that half the general audience who watches games take drug usage and gambling very lightly. Getting them to understand why this should be taken seriously and getting the other half to be more cautious when making accusations of foul play is the actual problem nowadays.

 

[Philly40]

Underage gambling and alcohol/drug use is already illegal, though.

And has been going on for centuries, if not longer.

 

[injurai]

finally, now it is a real sport.

lol

now we just need college leagues that don't pay students

 

[Piecake]

Underage gambling and alcohol/drug use is already illegal, though.

Perhaps that was worded poorly. My question was more on the lines of, do you agree with it being illegal? If so, should we take more steps to clamp down on it since the steps taking now are clearly not effective.

 

[Princess Carl]

When I read drug abuse I immediately thought of adderall, no surprise there. Back in the day when I would play Halo 3, adderall meant a 20-5 spread rather than a 5-20.

Lol what horseshit.

i'd go 20-5 with no PEDs. you're a noob.

 

[Seductivpancakes]

if you're taking adderall to help you play better, isn't that like cheating?

 

[Apt101]

Shit real sports has a performance enhancing drug problem. Welcome to the big leagues!

 

[HarryKS]

Happens amongst people who aspire to join orchestras as well.

Can't be as bad as high school Americans though.

On the drug side, it's mostly Adderral and other items which might help with concentration no? Yeah.

 

[FelixOrion]

Can't wait for the Congressional hearings

 

[Vermillion]

if you're taking adderall to help you play better, isn't that like cheating?

That reminds me of a question I've always wanted the answer to: is taking Adderall for an IQ test cheating (no I have not done it and will not do it)?

EDIT: And yes, if you have to cheat on an IQ test, that's... Anyways, I've always wondered what the effects would be there.

 

[Omega]

may?

that's cute. did the author just discover professional gaming yesterday?

 

[Wiseblade]

finally, now it is a real sport.

Not yet, we still need a match fixing scandal.

 

[Vice]

Not yet, we still need a match fixing scandal.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8623514.stm

 

[Omega]

Not yet, we still need a match fixing scandal.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8623514.stm

also

http://www.pcgamer.com/valve-suspends-seven-csgo-pro-players-for-match-fixing/

 

[udiie]

Not yet, we still need a match fixing scandal.

edit: goddammit omega

 

[Wiseblade]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8623514.stm

also

http://www.pcgamer.com/valve-suspends-seven-csgo-pro-players-for-match-fixing/

I need something Dota2 international, League World Championship or EVO-level to qualify.

 

[Omega]

"we need match fixing"

gets match fixing

"not that kind of match fixing"

 

[friskykillface]

When I read drug abuse I immediately thought of adderall, no surprise there. Back in the day when I would play Halo 3, adderall meant a 20-5 spread rather than a 5-20.

Lol wat , I never took any types of drugs and did amazing back in halo 2/3
My clan was awesome , we ran shit B^)


I assumed this was happening , they can't be that God

 

[Wiseblade]

"we need match fixing"

gets match fixing

"not that kind of match fixing"

More like those events don't seem major enough. People got banned, but tournament victories have yet to be recalled. Nobody has had to hand back a trophy yet.

 

[CountAntonius]

Drugs and gambling are legit. I know plenty of people who have won/lost thousands in CSGO skins that trade for real money.

 

[FyreWulff]

These organization just use young kids for money and exposure to sell games and their headsets.

I can't even remember if they changed it but MLG let people drop out of high school to compete in their league. That shouldn't be allowed. Hey kid cut your education short to get good at a game that's only going to be relevant for 3 more years at most

 

[M.W.]

finally, now it is a real sport.

Yep. It's now interesting.

 

[collige]

Not yet, we still need a match fixing scandal.

322

 

[sixghost]

More like those events don't seem major enough. People got banned, but tournament victories have yet to be recalled. Nobody has had to hand back a trophy yet.

The Starcraft match fixing scandal involved one of the most famous players in the world, and quite a few more really good players. They were all banned for life. I'd be surprised if there was ever a scandal bigger than that one.

 

[Omega]

and when has that happened in sports? Last match fixing scandal in a major sporting event happened almost a century ago.

Guess the NFL or NBA aren't real sports.

 

[Wiseblade]

and when has that happened in sports? Last match fixing scandal in a major sporting event happened almost a century ago.

Guess the NFL or NBA aren't real sports.

Cricket had a big match fixing scandal a few years ago.

 

[Ken]

Interesting. I never really gave eSports much thought

Random aside but reading this with the Protoss avatar was really weird!

 

[Piecake]

Random aside but reading this with the Protoss avatar was really weird!

Huh? My pumpkin pie looks like a Protoss?

 

[HowZatOZ]

There's already solutions being sought for under-age gambling in esports, our national radio Triple J in Australia had a discussion a few weeks back about it, definitely recommend a listen.

https://storify.com/triplejHack/esp...story&utm_media=storypage&utm_content=related

http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hack/stories/s4234280.htm

 

[smurfx]

well i know for a fact the FGC has a huge gambling problem.

 

[Bleepey]

I am more weirded out by tobacco advertising on FG streams.

 

[Ferrio]

I am more weirded out by tobacco advertising on FG streams.

You don't wanna hear about the new taro flavor?

edit: this was moved to gaming community? Wut?

 

[wildfire]

well i know for a fact the FGC has a huge gambling problem.

I see money matches as an extension of the whole culture cultivated from playing at arcades. Lose a game, lose your quarter. These people now play for higher stakes even if they don't have to since console gaming has become so widespread.

 

[Bleepey]

You don't wanna hear about the new taro flavor?

edit: this was moved to gaming community? Wut?

lol

 

[Conor_Fool]

i'd go 20-5 with no PEDs. you're a noob.

Lol what horseshit.

Yeah I was a huge noob, so something that helped my concentration made me significantly better. Not too hard to understand