Swedish Gambling in Numbers

Back at the start of the year, the Swedish gambling regulatory body Spelinspektionen released their annual survey, which shows the gambling habits of Swedish citizens.

It showed that at least 66% of Swedes had gambled in the past year. However, this was a decrease on the previous year, in which 72% of Swedes had gambled.

So, what’s up? The full Spelinspektionen report not only shows a myriad of reasons why Swedes are gambling less, but also gives us insight into which kind of casino games they are playing and why.

In this post, you can find out all about Swedish gambling habits and how they may change for the better in 2019.

Less Swedes Are Gambling

The big take away from the report was the fact that less Swedes are gambling than in previous years:

1. 68% of Swedes had gambled money at least once in 2018, compared to 78% of Swedes in 2017
2. 30% of Swedes, who had gambled previously, stopped because they never won any money
3. 22% of Swedes, who had gambled previously, stopped because they lost trust in the gambling market

So why is this the case? It all stems from the fact that, before 2019, the Swedish gambling market was heavily restricted.

Sweden’s New Licensing Laws

In 2019, there has been a lot of buzz around the Swedish gambling market. This is because on the January 1st, 2019, a new Gambling Act came into place.

Previously, the Swedish gambling market was dominated by the state-owned monopoly, Svenska Spel. However, as Svenska Spel continued to lose market share to international operators, the Swedish government set about re-regulating the market.

In January 2019, 69 gambling companies had received approval of their license applications. These include big-name international brands, such as 888, Betfair, Mr Green and LeoVegas.

Online Casinos Have Grown in Popularity

According to the Spelinspektionen report, even before the Swedish gaming market was re-regulated, online casino activity was still growing in popularity:

1. Sweden’s overall gambling market was worth £1.9 billion in 2018, which was a 1.5% gain on 2017’s result
2. The total revenue from online gambling activity in Sweden was up 12.2%
3. Online casinos were up 13.7%, whilst online sports betting was up 11.5%
4. Online gambling activity accounted for 52% of the total value of the Swedish gambling market

By the time the figures for 2019 are released, we can expect these online statistics to look even more promising, thanks to the fact that many online operators have now been giving Swedish gaming licenses.

Problem Gambling in Sweden

Although it seems that Sweden is very concerned about the future of gambling for the country, problem gambling doesn’t seem to be too big of an issue:

1. Only 3% of Swedes say that they gambled more than they should have in 2018
2. 7% of Swedes say they know someone who gambles too much

These figures are helped by the fact that Sweden has an effective and well-received self-exclusion program. The Spelinspektionen report showed that over 10,000 Swedes have signed up to the program since it was launched.

To find out more about the Swedish gambling market, including advice on where and how to play online casino games in Sweden, visit Slotsify.com.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.