Swedes gamble €586m in third quarter

Swedes gambled SEK6bn (€586.9m) in the third quarter of 2020 according to statistics from the gambling authority, the Spelinspektionen.

This was an increase of 1.3 per cent compared with the same quarter of 2019. It also reported that just over 56,000 players were suspended from playing via the Spelpaus exclusion programme, seven per cent up. By mid-November the number had increased to nearly 58,000.

There were 100 active licences in force, 72 of which were for betting and/or for commercial online gambling.

The regulator notes that while there are no statistics for the amount gambled with illegal sites, British research estimates that between SEK627-740m (€61.3-€72.3m), after payouts, was spent that way.