Performance enhancing drugs in the Electronic Sports League: A prisoner’s dilemma
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/24/technology/drug-testing-is-coming-to-e-gaming.html
Although e-sports (competitive video game playing) is something with which I was previously unfamiliar, it is a rapidly growing past-time and industry. According to Newzoo, a games research firm, there are more than 113 millions worldwide e-sports fans, generating more than $250 million in annual revenue. The payoffs for being a competitive e-sports athlete are similarly impressive, as prize money for players is expected to reach $71 million this year. The possibility of grandiose earnings often creates perverse incentives, and the incentives presented in e-sports are manifesting themselves in the same ways the we have seen in traditional professional sports. One prominent Counter-Strike player went on record saying that he and most of his team take non-prescription Adderall to help them focus: to help them get a competitive advantage over their competition. The Electronic Sports League views this kind of activity as the illicit use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) to create an imbalanced playing field. In terms of game theory, the use of performance enhancing drugs creates a prisoner’s dilemma for competitive video game athletes.
The prisoner’s dilemma is inherent in an athletes decision whether or not to use performance enhancing drugs. These drugs can have physical side effects, as well as legal ramifications for the illicit use of prescription medication without an actual prescription. Similarly, we can assume that the drugs provide the same advantage to any given player that chooses to use them. As such, the optimal outcome is that no athlete uses PEDs. Nobody takes on health or legal risks, and the playing field remains level. However, if your competition isn’t using them, you can gain an advantage by using PEDs. This incentivizes a player to begin using PEDs. Similarly, if your competition is using them, then you are incentivized to also use PEDs to remain competitive. However, when all players use PEDs (the Nash equilibrium), everybody loses. No player has the PED-provided unfair advantage and all players have taken on the health risks. As such, PEDs in electronic sports (as well as traditional sports) creates a prisoner’s dilemma for athletes.