Spelinspektionen launches new Spelpaus awareness drive

While the initial campaign, comprising advertising on television, online and via social media, focused on players themselves, the next wave will specifically target women, relatives of problem gamblers, and residents for whom Swedish is not their native language. 

The latest campaign, which will run until mid-January next year, will be run predominantly online, with banners to feature on a range of different websites, with 13 messages to be pushed out. 

“According to a new survey, the proportion of players online who know of Spelpaus.se increased, from 54% last year to 71% this year,” Spelinspektionen communications manager Anders Sims explains. 

“That’s fine, but it could be even better. Anyone who loses control of their gambling, or for other reasons wants to avoid gambling, should know that there is a good tool offered by Spelinspektionen.”

It is being run to ensure players are aware of the resources available to help keep their gambling under control amid the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. The first campaign appears to have had a positive impact, with the number of customer self-excluding through the system rising from 52,000 in June, to 58,000 in November.

The government is taking more direct action to reduce gambling related harm, through new controls for online casino. This has seen mandatory session limits introduced, and bonuses capped at SEK100, as well as – perhaps most notably – an SEK5,000 deposit cap for players. 

While these measures were originally set to expire at the end of the year, the government last week announced that it would look to keep them in place until June 2021. A consultation on the extension – which has been attacked by private operators – runs until 23 November.