The government of Sweden wants to collect data on why some gamblers make the decision to self-exclude and to find out how many of these same players later return to gray market and offshore gaming sites.
It is asking Spelinspektionen, the country’s gaming regulator, to provide this information. It will work with the Swedish Public Health Authority and provide its findings and recommendations by October 31, 2023.
Although the government values the Spelpaus.se self-exclusion program as a tool against problem gambling, it says there isn’t enough information—including numbers— on why some players decide to become ex-players and then go back to gambling using illegal sites.
Spelinspektionen will also examine adding more options and ways to self-exclude to Spelpaus.se. Among them is the ability to change the length of the self-exclusion or to only opt out for certain games, such as online slots.
iGaming Business reported that Financial Markets Minister Niklas Wykman commented, “The possibility to disconnect from gambling via Spelpaus.se is an important measure to counter gambling abuse and protect consumers.”
Wykman added, “However, there is a lack of sufficient knowledge about why people withdraw from gambling and what proportion of those withdrawn choose to play with gambling companies without a Swedish license, something that, among other things, the State Treasury has highlighted as a problem. That is why we are giving the Spelinspektionen the task of mapping this out.”
