The Swedish Gambling Inspectorate (Spelinspektionen) conducted an annual survey of the Swedes’ gambling habits. The survey carried out at the end of November 2022 showed that 72 percent of all Swedes have gambled for money in the past 12 months.
Annual survey:
The survey titled ”General public about gambling” was conducted in collaboration with the survey company SKOP. The annual survey showing the gambling habits of Swedish citizens provides the Swedish Gambling Inspectorate indication of the market volume and the directions regarding potential risks associated with social groups of citizens. This Swedish gambling authority is empowered by the government to ensure the legality, safety, and reliability of the Swedish gaming and gambling market.

Gambling habits:
The survey conducted in November shows that 72 percent of all Swedes have gambled for money in the past 12 months. The percentage represents almost the same level as the survey carried out at the same time last year. Out of this number, 38 percent gambled last week representing a 4 percentage points increase in comparison to the last year’s survey. Also, 71 percent of players played lotteries and number games thus making them the most common gambling option.
Similar levels to 2021:
SKOP submitted the survey findings at the end of November to Spelinspektionen, and the findings show that 85 percent of Swedish players play at home. This level is similar to the one measured in 2021. Finally, 62 percent of players are aware of the self-exclusion register Spelpaus.se, which is three percentage points more than in 2021.

The Inspectorate aims to provide consumers with the tools requested for fair gaming securing a transparent and balanced gaming market. The authority’s equal concern is the reduction of potentially harmful social effects arising from gambling. For this reason, it issued regulatory guidelines regarding responsible gambling provisions in 2021 indicating that player behavior must be continuously monitored.

Responsible gaming guidelines:

According to the guidelines, operators must constantly supervise players to be able to timely enact excessive gambling measures. It means that the player’s gaming patterns shall be monitored, such as the player’s gambling frequency and game duration, to determine whether a pattern of excessive gambling behavior is evident.

The regulator also suggests that players between 18 and 24 years of age shall be particularly monitored. For all these reasons, Spelinspektionen requests operators to have an action plan in place to enforce their duty of care.

In 2021, the Swedish gambling market generated SEK 26 030 million (US$2.5 million) in gross gaming revenue, which accounted for 1 percent of disposable income in the country.