Gambling in Sweden up 7% in 2021, survey says

The survey took place in November in conjunction with survey company SKOP.

A number of questions presented multiple choice answers.

Of those in the sample pool of 2,192 people, three out of four – or 73% – of participants were found to have gambled in the last year, up 7% from the 2020 survey.

When asked “in which places have you gambled in the last 12 months” 86% of participants said that they had gambled at home in the last year. A total of 20% gambled in a retail facility, down 5% compared to 2020, while 5% stated they had gambled at their job – up 1%.

These numbers may be attributed to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, when many in-person gambling venues were shut down.

During this time the Swedish government implemented a controversial deposit cap of SEK5,000. This was extended several times, and was abolished in November 2021. However, earlier this month Sweden’s Ministry of Finance launched a consultation on a lower deposit cap of SEK4,000 for casinos.

In response to what is of most importance when playing, the probability of winning was the most popular factor at 41%. The size of the winnings was second at 36%, while controlled play and entertainment tied in third at 33%.

A total of 46% of respondents said they had not used an online gaming account in the previous 90 days. This is up 10%. Meanwhile 39% had used one account, while 12% had used two. Just 2% had used three or more accounts.

When asked whether they believed Swedish operators take responsibility for problem gaming, 35% responded “yes, to some extent” while 27% responded “no, not at all”. Elsewhere 7% said “yes, absolutely” – down 5% – while 32% said they did not know.

In addition, 59% of respondents were aware of Sweden’s self-exclusion service, Spelpaus.se, but had not used it. A total of 1% reported using it.

A majority of respondents – 53% – said they had seen or heard advertisements for gambling every day or every week.

In June 2021 Sweden’s Ministry of Finance launched a consultation into gambling advertising in the country, proposing that it be treated with the “special moderation” attributed to advertising alcohol.