Better Opportunities to Combat Gambling Addiction

Press release from the Ministry of Finance

SWEDEN (December 8, 2022) — In a memorandum, increased opportunities for gambling companies to access personal data are proposed to counter gambling abuse. The proposal aims to facilitate society’s collective work to counter problem gambling and means, among other things, that self-reported information about players’ health and finances may be analyzed in order to be able to take the necessary measures.

“Through the proposal, we can ensure strong consumer protection in the gambling market and better help those who need to get out of gambling addiction. The proposal has been developed after a follow-up by the State Treasury, where they point out that gambling companies must have good knowledge of their customers in order to be able to counteract problem gambling,” says Minister of Financial Markets Niklas Wykman.

Gambling addiction is a serious problem that affects far too many people. Gambling companies that, for example, conduct activities in the form of online casino games, today have the right to handle certain personal data within the so-called duty of care, which aims for gambling companies to protect players against excessive gambling. The memorandum’s proposal means that the right to process personal data to discourage problem gambling must be supplemented so that it is clear that personal data from player profiles and players’ gaming behavior may also be used. It is also proposed that gambling companies should be given the opportunity to review and analyze self-reported information about a player’s health and finances in order to counteract excessive gambling.

It is important for gambling companies to have a good knowledge of their customers in order to be able to fulfill their responsibilities under the Gambling Act. Processing of personal data to be able to follow the development of the players’ gambling behavior, finances and health are of great importance for the gambling companies’ ability to take gambling responsibility and discourage excessive gambling.

The purpose of the proposal is to prevent people with gambling problems or people who are at risk of problem gambling, from being lured into gambling.

The changes to the law are proposed to enter into force on 1 January 2024.

SOURCE: Press release from the Ministry of Finance