I wasn't aware that cheating is such a huge deal in pro gaming. Source?
Also, it occurs to me that cheating has been a big deal in regular sports, too...! ;-) In fact, I would say the same about interest levels. I found football excruciating until I learned the rules.
In pro gaming not so much. What I mean here is "casual" pro gaming. This is a big issue in FPS games. Smaller player driven leagues have a hard time weeding out cheaters in games like counterstrike and other fps's. This leads into the other point as well. Football is just jammed down peoples throats so much that even watching TV/movies you probably got a decent understanding of it. Without casual pro gaming it is hard to gain interest in e-sports at a high level.
It's a pretty big deal in high-level sports, too. Ask Jose Canseco (the baseball player who most famously used steroids), Bill Belichick (the infamous American football locker-room videotaper), and He Kexin (the almost-certainly-underage Chinese gymnast from 2008).
Cheating is not a major issue. I follow StarCraft and have never heard of an instance of actual cheating. Match throwing to earn money on betting against yourself was a major scandal 2 seasons ago though.
Also, it occurs to me that cheating has been a big deal in regular sports, too...! ;-) In fact, I would say the same about interest levels. I found football excruciating until I learned the rules.