Swedish audit office deems gambling support to be insufficient
The Swedish National Audit Office has outlined a series of recommendations to improve coordination and knowledge sharing on gambling issues.
Sweden.- The Swedish National Audit Office has concluded that efforts to combat gambling problems in Sweden are insufficient and that problems are increasing, especially among children and young people. It’s urged the Public Health Agency and the National Board of Health and Welfare to develop and coordinate knowledge support, strengthen follow-up and prioritise efforts for young people.
The report recommends that the government consider including questions about gambling problems in initiatives in related areas. Meanwhile, it proposes that the Public Health Agency develop methods based on proven experiences that would allow municipalities to receive more practical guidance for detecting and preventing gambling problems, especially for children and young people.
The audit office also said the Public Health Agency should drive national coordination for gambling issues so that the knowledge from different actors is translated into concrete and coordinated knowledge support for the municipalities. It recommends developing indicators for children and young people’s gambling and gambling problems in the national monitoring system.
Other recommendations include a move to systematically consider needs within gambling when the authority decides on overall priorities and work to make more use of synergies between the national coordination for gambling and the national ANDTS (Alcohol, Narcotics, Doping, Tobacco, and Gambling) public health strategy.
The report also has recommendations for the National Board of Health and Welfare. It said the body should develop knowledge support for gambling problems, especially regarding recommendations for children and young people, and incorporate knowledge support for gambling problems into the national guidelines for abuse and addiction to promote collective work in the ANDTS.
