The article is devoted to the study of the privileges received by the winners of athletic competitions as well as poetic and musical contests in the 2nd-3rd centuries AD. Egyptian papyri are the main source on this issue, but the realities described in them were typical of the entire Roman Empire. Those who won the games included in the special list of είσελαστικοί could claim both monthly payment and exemption from taxes and liturgies in the cities which they represented at the competitions. The procedure for obtaining these benefits and ways of their implementation were the subject of constant disputes between cities and unions of actors and athletes, and the Roman emperors or governors acted as arbiters in these disputes. In the 2nd century AD the stability of the empire allowed actors to be moderate in these matters, but subsequent upheavals led to large concessions in their favor. The cities tried to use bureaucratic procedures to make obtaining these benefits more difficult, but those measures did not have much success. It took a new strengthening of the central government in the Dominate era to streamline the situation and limit the circle of applicants for privileges.