ALPHA. Demokratiskolan.se is a PROTOTYPE · Content review in progress
Demokratiskolan
The Gambling card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 98 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaCulture & everyday life
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
Culture & everyday life

Gambling

Games, lotteries, casinos & gambling

Since 2019 a licensing system has applied on the Swedish gambling market: companies that want to target Swedish players must have a licence from the Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen) and follow Swedish rules. The central government holds almost all the reins. But when gambling becomes a problem, it is the municipality's social services and the region's care that take over.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · social services & debt advice · approx 10 %
  • Region · care for gambling addiction · approx 10 %
  • State · gambling law, licences & inspection · approx 75 %
  • EU · free movement in the background · approx 5 %

Gambling policy is almost entirely national: the Gambling Act, the licences and the inspection sit with the Riksdag and the Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen). The general election decides.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalitySupport
The regionCare
Central governmentThe licence & the law · centre of gravity
Who decides?
The social welfare committee (socialnämnden) and the social services.
The health and medical care committee and the region's addiction care.
The Riksdag, the Government, the Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen) and the state-owned Svenska Spel.
What do they decide?
Support for gambling addiction, which is now treated on a par with other substance misuse in the Social Services Act, plus budget and debt advice.
Treatment of gambling addiction within addiction care and psychiatry, often at the same clinics as for other addiction.
The Gambling Act, licence examination, inspection, the companies' duty of care, advertising rules and the self-exclusion register Spelpaus.
Where are decisions made?
At the social services and the municipality's budget and debt advisers.
At the region's addiction clinics, often through 1177.
In the Riksdag and at the Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen).
Who pays?
The municipal tax.
The regional tax.
The inspection is paid for by the companies' fees. The gambling tax goes to the central government.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election The municipal election steers the resources of the social services. Contact with the social welfare committee.
Regional election The regional election steers what care is offered. Comments through the patients' committee.
General election The general election steers gambling policy. Changes to the Gambling Act go out on referral.
EUGambling policy is fundamentally national, but the EU's rules on free movement put pressure on the old monopoly and contributed to the licensing system. Influenced indirectly in the European Parliament election.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case A gambling company wants to reach Swedish players
  1. State

    The Riksdag swaps the monopoly for licences

    The Gambling Act from 2019 opened the market: instead of a monopoly, companies with a licence may operate here, in return for following Swedish rules on moderate advertising and care for the players.

    Point of influence

    The general election steers gambling policy, and changes to the law go out on open referral.

  2. State

    The Gambling Authority examines the licence

    The company is examined: finances, owners and technical systems. With the licence comes a duty of care, a requirement to follow the players' behaviour and act in the case of risky gambling, plus connection to Spelpaus.

  3. State

    The inspection and the advertising are reviewed

    The Gambling Authority can issue warnings, impose sanction fees and revoke licences. The Swedish Consumer Agency (Konsumentverket) reviews whether the gambling advertising is moderate.

    Point of influence

    You can report aggressive gambling advertising to the Swedish Consumer Agency and unlicensed gambling to the Gambling Authority.

  4. MunicipalityRegion

    When the gambling becomes a problem

    The social services are to offer support for gambling addiction in the same way as for other substance misuse, and the region's addiction care provides treatment. A first step many take themselves is to self-exclude through Spelpaus.

    Point of influence

    The municipal and regional elections steer the resources for support. Relatives too can turn to the social services.

  5. Your everyday life

    The odds in your phone

    The advert at half-time, the age limit, the deposit limits and the button to exclude yourself: all of it is the result of the Riksdag's choice between the enjoyment of gambling, tax revenue and protection.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. Gambling gives the central government tax revenue while gambling problems cost society. How should that be weighed?

  2. Should gambling advertising be restricted more harshly, or is gambling the responsibility of adults themselves?

  3. Is it reasonable that the same central government that earns money from gambling is also responsible for protecting the players?

  4. How does gambling show up in your everyday life: the advertising, the scratchcards at the checkout, your friends' betting?

  5. Who should catch the person who gambles away their finances, and how early?

Glossary

Spellicens
A permit from the Swedish Gambling Authority required in order to target gambling for money at Swedish consumers.
Omsorgsplikt
The licensed companies' obligation to follow the players' behaviour and intervene at signs of risky gambling.
Spelpaus
A national register at the Swedish Gambling Authority where you can exclude yourself from all licensed gambling.
Spelmissbruk
Gambling for money that harms finances and health, treated on a par with other substance misuse in the Social Services Act.
Budget- och skuldrådgivning
Free municipal help for the person who is caught in debt.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.