Sweden: report urges time limits for online gambling
A new report from the Equality Commission says online gambling should only be allowed between certain hours.
Sweden.- The government’s Equality Commission has published a new report that recommends online gambling be allowed only at certain hours.
The Jämlikhetskommissionen, which is part of Sweden’s Ministry of Finance, also 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”.
It notes that 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 the majority of spending.
It added that women were more likely than men to show signs of gambling addiction.
It said online casino was the vertical that most led to problem gambling.
While it recognised that there was “no simple connection” between income and problem gambling in Sweden, it said that those on a lower income tended to be “more vulnerable”.
While it warned against “overly strict regulation” that could harm channelisation to the regulated market, it recommended gambling adverts come with warnings similar to tobacco products and that online gambling should have “limited opening hours”.
The report 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.
The authors said: “In the same way as with alcohol policy, the policy needs to focus on preventing abuse through balanced efforts rather than limiting all gambling.
“Excessive restrictions or high taxes can lead to an increased share of unregulated gambling.”
The report also called for a national monitoring system to track player activity across all licensees’ products on the regulated market in order to enforce stake limits, which it argued offer an important tool in fighting addiction because they create a break in play.
It said such a platform could allow players to set a maximum deposit for 24 hours that could not be exceeded on any regulated platform.
The Commission said: “When this maximum amount specified on a daily basis is reached, the player should not be able to continue gambling.”
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”.
Such a move would require a change to the Swedish constitution to exempt gambling advertising from free speech laws.
The Commission said: “Those who respond most to advertising have a high level of impulse-driven consumption, both in gambling and elsewhere.
“This risks leading to overconsumption, problem gambling, gambling abuse or displacement of necessary spending.”
The Commission also said operators should provide the Swedish Gaming Authority, Spelinspektionen, with anonymised information on customers to allow more accurate tracking of problem gaming.
It argues: “Today, licensed gaming companies have access to extensive information about individual players.
“With this information they can develop and refine […] the advertising sent to both registered and prospective customers.
“In this way, they have significant information supremacy over the authorities that will conduct supervision of the business.
“Problem gambling and gambling addiction is today measured primarily through surveys or with people who are undergoing treatment for their gambling problems, which can lead to significant statistical errors in the studies.”
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.
