The Equality Commission, which is part of Sweden’s Ministry of Finance, argues for the creation of a national monitoring system to enforce deposit limits and the application of tobacco-style warnings on gambling adverts. Its report is aimed at “increasing long-term economic equality and opportunities for social mobility”.
2 per cent of the Swedish population suffers from gambling addiction, with 0.4 per cent of those having a “severe addiction” and that a small number of players make up most of the spending.
According to the stats women were more likely than men to show signs of gambling addiction, and online casino was the vertical that most led to problem gambling.
While it warned against “overly strict regulation” that could harm channelization to the regulated market, it recommended gambling adverts come with warnings similar to tobacco products and that online gambling should have “limited opening hours”.
On advertising, the report calls for tobacco-style warning messages such as “Most people who gamble lose money”, “Gambling addiction increases the risk of suicide”, and “Children of gambling-addicted parents risk a bad start in life”.
The entity does not state what the hours should be, though it mentions that a large proportion of activity takes place on Fridays and Saturdays. It said further investigation was needed to make a specific proposal on the times.
Sweden has already tightened its online gaming regulations, introducing mandatory weekly deposit limits, which are due to remain in force for the duration of the pandemic crisis.
