How Spelpaus Helps Swedish Addicted Gamblers

Written by Winedmuner. Posted in Problem gambling

As many as 340,000 Swedes have gambling problems. Spelpaus which is the Swedish government’s national self-exclusion program is taking bigger steps to effectively address and control this issue. Spelpaus is a free program that enables Swedish players to voluntarily withdraw from online and land-based gambling services. Owners of gambling sites and land-based casinos as well as governments help problem gamblers use this tool. But some Curacao-licensed casinos without Spelinspektionen’s license provide their services to gamblers from Sweden with Bankid without Spelpaus – it can be a problem for Spelinspektionen. Spelpaus.se

Gambling regulations require gambling businesses to give their customers the option to voluntarily withdraw from their products, services, and venues. It is a government policy designed to curb and control problem gambling. If you have signed up at a licensed online casino that offers self-exclusion and you feel that you have lost control of your gambling activities, you can register your name in the self-exclusion program. When your registration is processed and accepted, you will be automatically banned from logging into existing accounts or registering new accounts at any online casino and prevented from entering a land-based casino or betting shop licensed in your country. National self-exclusion programs are available in all regulated online gambling markets, including UK and Sweden. Online casinos licensed in any jurisdiction are required by the law to give their players the option of self-exclusion. Let us show you how Spelpaus helps gambling addicts and problem gamblers in Sweden.

Problem Gambling in Sweden

Slightly more than 4% of Swedes in the age group of 16 – 87 have some gambling problem or the other. Gambling problems, however, are temporary. Some problem gamblers overcome their problems while others get a relapse. So these figures may change from time to time. Here are some facts and figures related to problem gambling in Sweden:

6% Swedish residents are problem gamblers.
7% Swedish players are at a high risk for gambling problems.
9% of them are at some risk for gambling problems.
15% of the players who claim to bet on high risk games every month are problem gamblers.
Every year, 100,000 players are replaced as problem gamblers.
Over 165,000 people, including 68,000 children, have a problem gambler in their family.

Moreover, a recent study from the health authority shows that most of the gambling addicts in Sweden are women. According to figures released from the health authority, 64% of the 45,000 problem gamblers in Sweden are women. The authority says that this development could be because of the increased popularity of online gambling in the country.

Facts about Spelpaus

Spelpaus is the Swedish government’s national self-exclusion register. It empowers Swedish players to turn off all gambling games offered by companies licensed in Sweden. You can use this facility to turn off all online, on-court, and in-store games in Sweden. Once you register for Spelpaus, you cannot remove yourself or terminate your self-exclusion prematurely. Players can register for Spelpaus through a link that all licensed operators ought to display on their websites. As soon as they click on the “Pause” link, they are instantly excluded from all varieties of gambling games. In Sweden, the self-exclusion applies not only to casino games, but also land-based gambling games, provided they are licensed in Sweden. You cannot exclude yourself from one gaming company, but from all gaming activities licensed in the country. Players can decide how long the self-exclusion can last: 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, or for an indefinite period of time. If they self-exclude for an indefinite period of time, they won’t be able to access any gambling game for a period of one year from their date of registration in Spelpaus. At the end of one year, they have to cancel the self-exclusion manually, failing which the self-exclusion will continue. To cancel the self-exclusion, they have to login to their self-exclusion account at Spelpaus.se.

How Spelpaus Helps Control Problem Gambling

As many as 4000 players registered for Spelpaus on the first four days of its existence. More than half of them self-excluded for an indefinite period of time. On Jan 8, 2019, it came to the Swedish Gambling Authority’s notice that self-excluded players were still able to access games at certain licensed gambling sites. A newspaper report of Jan 18, 2019, presented a list of 11 licensed gambling sites that violated gambling regulations by giving self-excluded players access to games. The Swedish Gambling Authority issued notices to several licensees who failed to properly implement Spelpaus. It fined Paf Consulting and Genesis Gaming after self-excluded players complained that they were still able to access the games. While Genesis had to pay a fine of SEK4 million, Paf had to pay a fine of SEK1 million for improper implementation of Spelpaus. Later, Aspire Global also had to pay a fine of SEK3 million for its failure to offer self-exclusion to players. Considering the fact that over 35,000 players have registered for Spelpaus so far indicates that the country is truly benefiting from the system.