The majority of Sweden’s gambling addicts are women for the first time ever, a recent survey by the nation’s Public Health Agency (Folkhälsomyndigheten) shows
The report found that the overall number of problem gamblers has dropped since 2015, when the last such study was released. However, the surge in the number of female gambling addicts is one of several concerning trends outlined in the latest survey.
Public Health Agency investigators found that the gender gap among problem gamblers has been erased over the past four years. And of the 45,000 people whose gambling problem is serious enough to be deemed an addiction, 64% are women. That is up from 18% in 2015. The surge is largely blamed on the exploding growth of online gambling in the Scandinavian nation.
Commenting on the newly published findings, Ulla Romild, the researcher behind the survey, said that while overall numbers are declining, it is still “worrying” that the number of people with serious gambling problems is growing and that there is an increase among women.
Ms. Romild went on to say that the growing number of women gambling addicts is not the most important result in the survey. The scholar explained that that the agency’s focus is “broader than only the people being dependent on gambling” and that they are “more interested in a larger group experiencing harm” – that of people with moderate risk and gambling problems.
The above group includes more than 100,000 Swedes, the survey shows. And another 225,000 people have some risk of joining the above group.
Gambling under a New Regulatory Regime
Sweden’s new gambling law took effect on January 1, 2019. While international companies were able to service Swedish gamblers before the implementation of the new regime, they can now do it in a controlled and regulated environment with a license from the local regulator, Spelinspektionen.
Prevention and assistance to problem gamblers is one of the main tasks the regulatory body and its licensees have been charged with as part of the reorganization of the local gambling market.
The new law mandated the creation of the Spelpaus national self-exclusion register that contains information about all Swedes who opt to self-exclude from gambling for a set or an indefinite period of time.
According to information from Spelinspektionen, more than 30,000 people have chosen to register with Spelpaus and self-exclude from gambling between January 1 and April 1, 2019. Most of them have done so for an indefinite period of time. This means that until further notice, they will not be able to gamble with all operators licensed to provide their services on the territory of Sweden.
The promotion of gambling activities in the country has appeared on the radar screen of lawmakers and competent bodies and it seems more and more likely that restrictions will be introduced. Sweden’s Minister for Public Administration Ardalan Shekarabi issued a statement alongside the gambling addiction survey, saying that he will put an end to the aggressive advertising of gambling products.
Licensees have recently proposed a self-regulation system regarding how they advertise their offering, but Minister Shekarabi believes more needs to be done so that the most vulnerable members of the population are protected.
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