Målområde 11. Spel. Kunskapsunderlag för Folkhälsopolitisk ...

Summary
objective domain 11. Gambling
knowledge base for the public Health policy report 2010
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 high er
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
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