Swedish Female Gambling Addicts Outnumber Men

So it turns out that Swedish female gambling addicts outnumber men. This was the conclusion of the health authority's most recent overview. The report discovered there was no gender gap among problem gamblers, with over half now being women.

Introduction: Swedish Female Gambling Addicts Outnumber Men

What's more, among the 45,000 individuals with an issue sufficiently serious to be viewed as a betting addiction, 64% were women. That is up from only 18% in 2015. Online gambling news in Sweden says this flood is due to the expansion in web based betting.

Less gamblers but more Women

But a review of 5,000 individuals also found that general quantities of problem gambler has dropped. This was since the last investigation in 2015. And yet, there was a 50% increase in problem gamblers. The quantity of women with a betting problem had been steadily increasing over the course of recent years, the public health agency said.

Gambling Dependancy

Ulla Romild, the specialist behind the report, said that regardless of the drop in general numbers, it was "distressing." She continued that significant issues had increased "and that we see such an increase among women". She said that from a general health point of view, the high number of female betting addicts - those with the most serious issue - was not the most significant result. "Our focus is broader than only people being dependent on gambling," she said. "We are more interested in a larger group experiencing harm. A combination of people with moderate risk and gambling problems." That group contains in excess of 100,000 individuals which is just shy of 1.5% of Sweden's populace. Another 225,000, just shy of 3% of the populace have some risk of turning into problem gamblers.

The Lure of Online Gambling

One area the report features is the growing amount of gambling done via the web. Sites like 1xBet. It noted the "new game forms" on the web which are changing gaming designs and gambling behavior. Teacher Anders Håkansson from Lund University , an authority in betting addiction, disclosed to Radio Sweden this could be one reason for the rise in woman betting. "We have to consider that the face of the gambling market is very different now. There is a high proportion of gambling happening online," he continued, "Women who do seek treatment are more likely to report online casino gambling than men do."

The figures showed that men play more poker and bet more on sports and horse racing than woman. They use sites like 1xBet.  But that gender gap has completely closed when it came to playing the lottery, slot machines, or bingo.

New Licensing Laws

Since 1st January, Sweden is working on a new licensing framework for betting and lotteries. The country is currently thinking about the issue surrounding advertising such games. The Minister for Public Administration, Ardalan Shekarabi released a statement promising to "put an end to the aggressive game advertising." Though online gambling sites in Sweden have proposed a form of self-regulation, Mr Shekarabi said on Wednesday that it "will not be sufficient. More needs to be done so that those who are most vulnerable in the market can find protection."