The controversy over “doping games”

In recent weeks, the lawsuit filed by the organisers of the so-called Enhanced Games, who openly admit to organising games in which participants openly use banned substances, has attracted extraordinary attention.

The organisers of the Enhanced Games are suing the World Aquatics, the USA Swimming Association (collectively, the “Associations”) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (“WADA”) on the grounds that WADA and the Associations are boycotting their planned games. The lawsuit is primarily a response to the actions of World Aquatics, which in June 2025 added a provision to its statutes prohibiting athletes who participate in or otherwise support “competitions” where doping is permitted from participating in competitions organised by World Aquatics. According to the games organisers, the Association and WADA are also responsible for conducting a negative campaign against such competitions.

The aforementioned actions of the Association and WADA allegedly caused the organisers of the Games damages amounting to USD 800 million.

The courts will therefore have to ask themselves whether the internal rules of sports associations are justifiable in this regard and whether, for example, the Associations are abusing their dominant position.

Why is it important to prevent doping in sport?

First and foremost, there is no doubt that doping is harmful to the human body.

That is why (not only) sports organisations have long been fighting against its use by athletes.

The ban issued by World Aquatics can also be justified by the fact that doping can increase the performance of the human body in the long term (regardless of when the substance is used), and thus participants in Enhanced Games could gain an advantage in other competitions as well.

However, the organisers of Enhanced Games can argue that the bans are blanket in nature and do not aim to investigate the circumstances of a specific case (i.e. whether participants in the games may be potentially affected by doping in standard sports competitions).

The issue of banning athletes from participating in events organised by other organisations that are not members of the International Olympic Committee is not entirely unfamiliar to European sports fans. In the past, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) has already dealt with the question of whether the International Skating Union could make the organisation of all international competitions subject to its prior approval. Athletes who participated in such unapproved sporting events faced a lifetime ban from competitions organised by the International Skating Union. In that case, the CJEU ruled that the measures in question were anti-competitive.

The CJEU also dealt with this issue in part in its Super League decision. In its decision, the CJEU expressed the opinion that, given the monopoly position of national sports associations, it is possible for them to have adopted measures that prevent member clubs of these associations from participating in competitions that they do not organise themselves. However, such rules must comply with substantive criteria and procedural conditions that would ensure their transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate nature.

Finally, it should be added that the use, possession, prescription, handling or distribution of doping substances is considered a criminal offence in some countries. These include Italy, Norway, Austria and France, to name but a few. Athletes from these countries may already be excluded from competitions of this type, otherwise they could face criminal consequences in their own countries. A similar risk applies to doctors, coaches, managers, and advisors from other countries who, in order to prepare an athlete for such a competition in any of the above-mentioned countries, assist in any way in the athlete's use of prohibited substances.

Conclusion

At this point, it is difficult to predict whether the concept of competitions where athletes enhanced by doping substances compete against each other will catch on.

In our opinion, however, doping has no place in sport. It endangers health, fairness and the integrity of competitions, and above all, equality of opportunity.

If you are interested in this topic or are looking for legal advice or services in the field of sports law, please do not hesitate to contact us.

***

For more news, not only in the field of sports law, follow us regularly on LinkedIn.