Swedish report hails drop in problem gambling rates
Economist Ola Nevander conducted a report for the gaming trade association BOS.
Sweden.- A report commissioned by BOS, the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling, has suggested that problem gambling rates in Sweden have fallen markedly since the late 2000s even as the online gambling sector expanded rapidly. Authored by economist Ola Nevander, the report notes that higher marketing spend and greater digital accessibility has not increased the proportion of problem gambling.
The study used the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI). The results indicate that the proportion of Swedish adults scoring 3 or above on the PGSI dropped from 2.2 per cent in 2008–09 to 1.3 per cent in 2021. It claims this represents about 57,000 fewer problem gamblers, a decline of roughly 35 per cent, although the number of gamblers will have increased.
The broader “at-risk” category with a PGSI score of 1+ shrank by an estimated 200,000. Meanwhile, the most severe cases (PGSI 8+) appear to have remained relatively stable, fluctuating between 0.3 per cent and 0.6 per cent.
Among online gamblers, the reduction appears to have been sharper: problem gambling prevalence fell from 12 per cent in 2008–09 to around 4 per cent between 2018 and 2021 despite no reported fall in participation.
The report notes that gambling marketing spend rose nearly ninefold between 2000 and 2024, peaking in 2018 before dipping after the launch of regulated online gambling in 2019. Online casino offerings grew more than tenfold from the mid-2000s to 2019 as internet and smartphone penetration became nearly universal by 2020.
As for channelisation to licensed platforms, BOS reports an overall rate of about 85 per cent, although it’s slightly lower in the online casino segment. By comparison, Norway and Denmark report higher rates (91.5 and 91 per cent respectively), while Finland lags at 48 per cent ahead of its planned regulation of online gambling.
Sweden’s national self-exclusion system, Spelpaus, had 136,000 registrants by March 2026 (1.6 per cent of adults). However, surveys and helpline data suggest that about half of those who self-exclude continue gambling, often via unlicensed operators.
The report also studied prevention and treatment strategies. Machine-learning models using transaction data show potential for identifying risky behaviour, though long-term evaluations are still pending. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has strong evidence backing its effectiveness. Meta-analyses show CBT can reduce the extent of gambling, the frequency, and symptoms of addiction compared with control groups, the report states.
Psychologist Jakob Jonsson said there was a need for centralised systems to reduce the anonymity of online play.
