2011-08-02
Summary of a publication in Swedish.
This report is one of 21 sub-reports of the Public Health Policy Report 2010. The main report, the Public Health Policy Report 2010: Public health of the future – everyone’s responsibility, was published in November 2010. The objective for the public health policy regarding gambling is to reduce harm from excessive gambling. The development of excessive gambling is measured through the three indicators: underage gambling, risky gambling habits and problem gambling.
Development of excessive gambling
There is a clear connection between excessive gambling and illness, particularly mental illness and hazardous alcohol consumption. The proportion of problem gamblers is significantly higher among men subjected to violence in the past year compared with those not subjected to violence. It is unknown whether excessive gambling leads to illness or if those who are mentally ill are more inclined to have problems with gambling. There is no register data on excessive gambling in Sweden, meaning that there is a lack of knowledge with regard to connections with mortality, attempted suicide, criminality and indebtedness, etc.
There are clear social disparities with regard to excessive gambling. Risky gambling habits are more common among those with a low level of education, a bluecollar profession, a low income or financial problems, and the pattern is stable over time. Problem gambling is more common among those with a low level of education or low income and those not born in Sweden. These discrepancies have increased among men in the past decade.
Excessive gambling is present in all population groups and in all types of gambling, but is more common among men and young people. Underage gambling has decreased in the past decade. However, both boys and girls gamble in all forms of gambling regardless of age limit, including gambling machines and Internet gambling. Approximately 2 per cent of the general population are problem gamblers, which is the same level of ten years ago.
However, the proportion of men aged 18 to 24 who are problem gamblers has doubled in the same period and, today, nearly one out of ten people in this group have problems with gambling for money. A higher proportion of problem gamblers are found among those who gamble often, for large amounts of money and in one or more of the types of gambling of gambling 9 machines, Internet gambling, casino gambling, bingo and poker. There are regional differences with regard to risky gambling habits and problem gambling with a higher occurrence in the metropolitan regions.
Implemented measures
Measures to counter the harms of excessive gambling have aimed to influence values, norms and laws, attitudes and behaviour, social relationships and individual factors. Implemented measures agree well with those proposed in the Public Health Policy Report from 2005. Most of the measures implemented have focused on attitudes and behaviour among gamblers and their relatives, as well as those who come into contact with problem gambling in their work. Few measures aimed to influence social relationships and with regard to those measures which aimed to influence values, norms and laws, there has been a lack of coordination.
In a collective assessment, we confirm that the measures implemented probably
had a positive effect on a population level and for individuals. Although the gambling market has expanded, the proportion of problem gamblers in the general population remains at the same level and underage gambling has decreased. Today, there are, to some extent, activities to which individual gamblers and relatives can turn for support, advice and treatment. Awareness in society has also increased that gambling for money has a negative side.
At the same time, major shifts have occurred
between various population groups with, among others, a doubling of the proportion of problem gamblers among men aged 18 to 24. We also note greater health discrepancies linked to the problem gambling that exists in society and underage gambling still exists in all forms of gambling. Access to support and treatment is very unevenly distributed over the country at the same time that there is still a shortage of crucial knowledge for developing effective prevention methods for gambling prevention.
Proposals of future measures
The report presents ten proposals of future measures to reduce the harms of excessive gambling. The four most important are to:
• develop and strengthen gambling regulations
• establish a national action plan for gambling prevention efforts
• develop, evaluate and implement methods that prevent problem gambling
• increase access to treatment with effective methods for problem gambling.
These measures aim to influence all levels of society. The presented proposals of
future measures to reduce the harms of excessive gambling, mainly lie at a low to
medium level in terms of costs.
updated Friday, August 12, 2011
