Swedish Gambling Monopoly Funds Problem Gambling Research

The Swedish gambling monopoly Svenska Spel has said it has taken a “big step towards a healthier gaming market”. The step is the creation of a professorship to study problem gambling.

The professorship will be at Lund University’s Faculty of Medicine and it will carry out research into the causes and effects of problem gambling. The head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Svenska Spel, Zenita Strandänger, said, “It’s part of our mission to work towards the prevention of gambling problems. To learn more about how we best can prevent these issues we need knowledge and insight, and we hope the professorship will contribute with this.”

Strandänger went on to say that Svenska Spel hopes that the Swedish gaming market will develop so that “gambling companies care about the customer”.

In order to finance the position Svenska Spel has allocated €280,000 over the next five years and Strandänger says that the five year period is likely to be extended.

Svenska Spel has recently come under criticism for not doing enough to address problem gambling. Strandänger says that a lack of functioning gambling regulation and overseas operators that accept bets from Swedish citizens are the main obstacles in tackling gambling addiction.