Sweden Sees Drop in Problem Gambling Despite Market Growth
STOCKHOLM, Sweden. A long-term analysis of Sweden’s gambling market shows problem gambling rates have declined despite industry growth.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:The findings challenge assumptions that increased availability and online expansion necessarily lead to higher levels of harm.
A report commissioned by Branschföreningen för onlinespel (BOS) and prepared by economist Ola Nevander synthesizes more than two decades of national survey data and academic research, concluding that the prevalence of problem gambling in Sweden has either stabilized or declined since the early 2000s. According to the analysis, the proportion of adults meeting problem-gambling criteria dropped from just over 2% in the late 2000s to roughly 1.3% by 2021 – a reduction that represents tens of thousands fewer people affected when applied to Sweden’s adult population.
The finding is notable because it comes amid major structural changes in the gambling market: the rapid rollout of smartphone betting, a large increase in licensed online platforms, heavier advertising, and new commercial entrants such as ATG and Svenska Spel operating alongside private operators. Those shifts prompted questions among regulators, clinicians and policymakers about whether greater availability would lead to more gambling harm. This review, however, suggests that the relationship between market growth and harm is not straightforward.
"The data do not support a simple cause-and-effect story in which more supply equals more harm", said Ola Nevander, the economist who authored the report. "Instead, we see a complex picture in which social change, improved awareness of mental-health and gambling issues, and stronger consumer-protection practices appear to have mitigated risks even as participation patterns changed."
The authors point to several interacting factors that may explain the decline. Licensed operators are now more tightly regulated and obliged to deploy safeguards such as deposit limits, identity checks, Spelpaus self-exclusion, and automated behavioral monitoring. Those measures, together with enhanced data analysis capabilities, make it easier for operators to detect risky play and intervene early. By contrast, play that migrates to unlicensed offshore sites frequently lacks similar protections, creating a two-tiered environment of risk.
Treatment availability and clinical approaches have also evolved. Cognitive behavioral therapy and digital counseling programs are increasingly used in specialist services, and some regional care providers report improved referral pathways between primary care and addiction clinics. The report does, however, caution that long-term outcome studies remain limited and that more robust follow-up data are required to judge the durability of treatment gains.
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Industry bodies and regulators welcomed the report’s findings but warned against complacency. A spokesperson for BOS said: "This research shows progress, but it does not mean problem gambling has been solved. Continued investment in prevention, better targeting of high-risk groups and up-to-date prevalence studies are essential if we are to sustain and deepen these gains."
Spelinspektionen, the Swedish Gambling Authority, has repeatedly signaled that enforcement against unlicensed operators and stricter oversight of marketing and bonus practices remain priorities. Regulators also emphasize the need for fresh national prevalence data; the most comprehensive survey referenced in the report dates from 2021, and stakeholders are calling for a new baseline to capture changes since the pandemic and the ongoing rise of mobile play.
Clinicians echo the call for better data. "We are seeing improvements in access to care and more targeted interventions, but without more frequent national surveys, we cannot be confident about trends in specific age groups or geographic clusters", said a senior clinician working in gambling treatment in Stockholm. "Policymakers need timely evidence to design effective prevention programmes and allocate resources appropriately."
For policymakers, operators and public-health officials, the central message is mixed: Sweden’s long-term trend in problem gambling is encouraging, but maintaining and accelerating that progress depends on coordinated regulation, consistent monitoring of unlicensed activity, continued investment in treatment services and a commitment to fresh, high-quality prevalence research.
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