First Steps to Tackle Gambling Addicts in Sweden

The Swedish National Audit Office has on Friday 29th June criticised the Swedish government for failing to tackle problems related to gambling. They have suggested that the state-owned company Svenska Spel (which exclusively operates the Swedish gambling market) isn't providing players with enough protection from gambling addiction.

The aim of the report is to create a safe gambling market which takes account of problem gamblers and provides players with support. The report suggests that gambling addiction appears to be on the rise as fewer players are gambling, but with more money. The availability of risky games has increased, marketing has become far more intense and players have easier access to gambling games than ever before. There is a huge illegal market on the internet which the Swedish state has no control over. Gambling in Sweden has increased by 16% between 2003 and 2011.

The report suggests that the government should focus more on researching gambling addiction in order to be able to take necessary steps to reduce or eliminate it. It also aims to grant liability to a specific organisation which will be held accountable in the future.

What remains to be seen is exactly how the Swedish government will choose to deal with this situation. One suggestion is that Sweden will follow in the footsteps of many other nations within the EU and introduce a licensing system which will grant foreign gaming companies access to the Swedish market. The Minister of Finance Peter Norman claims that this system is problematic too, but that it is being taken into consideration. Only time will tell how the Swedish government decides to deal with this, but we can certainly expect big changes within the near future.