The World Health Organization could kill the gaming industry

This year, the World Health Organization (WHO) added gaming addiction into the beta draft of The International Classification of Diseases (ICD). When officially added, gaming addiction will now be featured alongside gambling addiction.

Here is the entry:

“Disorder due to addictive behaviors

Gaming disorder is characterized by a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behaviour (‘digital gaming’ or ‘video-gaming’), which may be online (i.e., over the internet) or offline, manifested by: 1) impaired control over gaming (e.g., onset, frequency, intensity, duration, termination, context); 2) increasing priority given to gaming to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other life interests and daily activities; and 3) continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences. The behaviour pattern is of sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning. The pattern of gaming behaviour may be continuous or episodic and recurrent. The gaming behaviour and other features are normally evident over a period of at least 12 months in order for a diagnosis to be assigned, although the required duration may be shortened if all diagnostic requirements are met and symptoms are severe.”

This separates gaming from normal impulse control issues. The difference is surprisingly relevant. Rather than having the individuals accountable, gaming itself will take part of that blame.

What does this mean for the gaming community?

This has some significant implications. These come in the form of stigma, regulation, governmental influence on the community, and, ultimately, could spell the end of esports as we know it. The stigma that will be attached to gamers now has the ability to parallel that of gamblers. Parents could now label gamers as addicts instead of anti-social. Where before a parent might be able to write off their child’s behavior pattern, it could garner concern.

The problem here is in cases of extraordinarily gifted gamers. If you have a child with extreme athletic ability that wants to play sports, parents are willing to allot maximum time and even finances to make sure their kid has the best shot at being an athlete. They will make sure their kid is on travel teams, has the best equipment, and has ample time to increase their athletic ability. While I’m not fully onboard with this practice, it does produce extremely talented individuals that are active in the professional sports world.

Just a few weeks ago, I would have told you that this will be happening soon with gaming. That parents would be buying the best gaming rigs for their kids. They would be paying for them to participate in gaming “little leagues”. Parents would be carting their kids to esports events as early as elementary school. I was excited to see the new generation of esports pros as a result of this. The stigma of gaming addiction may cause this to crumble. Now, instead of seeing their children’s fascination with gaming as positive, it could be interpreted as an addiction. Children could end up in therapy sessions trying to “sort this out.” Instead of progress, it will invite decline.

What scares me even more is the regulation to follow. Minor things that may happen are gaming addiction helpline commercials being required to go into esports broadcast, akin to the rules for gambling events. We might see a regulated bandwidth for gaming uses. (This is perhaps even more likely with the recent net neutrality decision by the FCC.) Bigger things could happen as well. California could decide that gaming needs to be regulated like gambling. They could regulate it so it has to take place on tribal land. Imagine having to set everything up as a charity room, like poker does in some states. Esports would take a huge hit due to actions like these.

The impact it would have on esports would be astronomical. Colleges would be encouraged not to have League of Legends teams. We could have truancy laws that fine parents if their kid plays games when they are home sick from school. Gaming commercials might end up being restricted or even banned. At the very least, every gaming commercial would have to have the “game responsibly” caveat featured in it in some way. What happens when the government decides that every esport must pay $100,000 to file an application to be considered to have competitions. Or each game developer has to pay similar fees to have the government ensure that their product is not too addictive.

Imagine they treat it like the tobacco industry where games have a year-and-a-half approval process. Smaller games like Eternal: The Card Game, Fortnite, or anything created by smaller gaming companies would cease to exist. Only large game developers would be able to produce games. A gaming sin tax could be implemented; games could end up costing double or triple their normal price. If any, some, or all of these events come to pass, we could see the death of the esports industry, which is still in its infancy. A blow like this could stunt the growth of everything gamers are coming to love.

What happens when they stop the progress we are making? How do we combat the incoming impact? These are questions we have to start seriously asking ourselves. And we must do this very soon for the sake of all gamers, now and in the future.

Here are the things that they are mistaken on.

The physicians and regulators see gaming as socially removing us from our environments. I do not see it that way. We are creating our own social communities. We are not removing ourselves, we involve ourselves in something different, something special. Our community is forming into a strong, caring, community of individuals cooperating toward similar goals. We are changing the world and oursleves for the better.

The gaming community is forming into what the sports community wishes it was. We are instilling comradery, leadership, hard work, innovation, charisma, and many other endearing and sought-after qualities. With all of the science pointing toward sports like football having negative health consequences, I had begun taking this as a sign that esports would begin taking over. I’ve been of the belief that, in 20 years, traditional sports would be taking the proverbial sideline to esports. That this would be our time to shine. With the way the world is progressing, and the dawn of the digital revolution, we were moving toward this. The skills that gaming teaches were going to be applicable to life — both professionally and and at home. Because of the way we communicate, gaming was going to be a positive influence, not an addiction. This was going to be the way we learned. With the proliferation of the internet, having every digital advantage would be necessary. Now this could all be taken away.

I am asking for everyone’s help to make sure we are able to continue along this path and to move forward. For us to continue, something has to be done. We have to tell people that this isn’t an addiction, that we aren’t addicts. We have to tell them that just because our lives our different, our friends are online, and our passions are different that we are not sick. We are not addicted. We are just different from them and that doesn’t make us or them bad. It’s what makes us good. That gaming is the best part of us. If they take that from us, society as a whole will be worse off because of it.

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