Nordic countries have long been hailed as model gambling markets in Europe. Even though some of them, including Sweden, were late to legalize gambling, they have all been able to consistently post some of the best results insofar as consumer protection goes. An update of Sweden’s self-exclusion program is now in the spotlight.

Spelpause.se Learns from Experience and Evolves

The new and updated look of the website is welcomed by Spelinspektionen general director Camila Rosenberg who touted the tweaks:

“If you play too much and for more money than you can afford, it is important to be able to easily and quickly break that pattern and take a break from playing.”

Spelinspektionen general director Camila Rosenberg

While Denmark, often praised as the safest gambling market on the continent, has known a few setbacks with the number of problem gamblers and illegal gambling websites, the region remains fairly safe. This is the result of consistent efforts, scrupulous regulatory work, and not least, the constant tweaking of existing reforms.

Now, Spelinspektionen, Sweden’s leading gambling regulator, has posted an updated version of its self-exclusion program, the Spelpause.se or the rough equivalent of GamStop in the United Kingdom. Originally announced in March, the new version makes the onboarding process much simpler and enables consumers to find their way on the platform quicker and more easily.

This will result in increased adoption of the program, the regulator hopes. The overall website is much simpler in terms of making the important resources there more visible. This way consumers can find the information they need or roll straight into self-exclusion. The program is already available in the country and makes it easier for those who wish to register with it to do so.

Self-Exclusion Does Not Solve Addiction – Help Does

As a result, they are excluded from the nationally-regulated gambling websites which have an obligation to protect consumers by honoring their Spelspaus.se participation. In the several years since gambling has been regulated in the country, some 75,000 Swedes have registered with the website.

Sweden is aware that simply self-excluding consumers are not a closed case, and their struggles with a gambling addiction may continue to linger. That is why the website is reinventing itself as a place where consumers can find the necessary resources to address the problem and seek professional help. The heightened level of regulatory scrutiny has had a positive effect on operators and stakeholders.

LeoVegas experimented with personalized safe gambling messaging in Sweden and is hoping to tackle problem gambling this way. Other measures and solutions have been more of hit-and-miss, though. Spelinspektionen is inconclusive whether a deposit cap was actually helpful to limit gamblers’ bad gambling habits, for example.