Swedish gambling rates stall as Svenska Spel dominates usage
Survey highlights lack of awareness of self-exclusion methods and lack of consumer confidence
Two out of three Swedes have gambled over the last 12 months according the Swedish regulator Spelinspektionen’s annual survey of Swedish gambling habits, although the figure marks a steady decline from 76% in 2013 and flat compared with 66% over the past two years.
Swedish analysts Novus carried out the survey on behalf of Spelinspektionen, conducting 1582 interviews with individuals over a 13-day period between 5-18 October, prior to the introduction of the re-regulated market
Of those who had gambled online recently, 60% used Svenska Spel, 15% had used ATG, with bet365 the ‘best of the rest’ at 3% and Unibet at 2%.
The survey asked respondents to confirm their preferred sites
When asked ‘when did you last play?’ 34% of people surveyed said they had gambled within the last week, while 18% said they had done so within the last 12 months.
Of those who had not gambled during these periods, 22% said they had not done so because of “low confidence in the present gaming market” while a further 17% said they were tired of gambling.
Retail continues to be the preferred method of gambling by Swedes, with 46% of individuals surveyed gambling via their local operator while 25% of individuals questioned gambled via mobile phone. Only 19% of surveyed individuals said they gambled via their desktop PC.
Despite these figures, 40% of individuals surveyed had no active account with an operator, with 37% only having one active account.
Seven percent of surveyed individuals had a close relative who had experienced problem gambling while just over half the individuals surveyed (52%) were unaware of the ability to self-exclude and only 2% would look for assistance with problem gambling issues via a helpline or other resource.