The Swedish Gambling Authority reports that more than 80,000 Swedes use the Spelpaus feature. Thus, it is clearly an important measure that every casino with a Swedish license today must offer its customers in accordance with the regulations.
Gaming breaks are an important part of casinos without a Swedish license
Since the Swedish gambling market rules changed in 2019, Spelpaus is one of the requirements for gambling companies to work with Swedish customers. Spelpaus is a free service for which the Swedish Gambling Authority is responsible. Anyone with a Swedish Social Security number and an electronic ID card can log out with just a few clicks on the website. Once the service is activated, it cannot be cancelled. Thus, the player is blocked from all gambling at casinos and betting sites with a Swedish license until a period of time expires.
Players prefer casinos with a Swedish license
Therefore, pause play is a feature that all Swedish licensed casinos should have on their website. The fact that the site has a Swedish license is also highly regarded by players, as surveys show. Many turn to comparison sites such as https://www.livecasinon.net/ , to more easily navigate the range of online casinos by reading reviews.
The Swedish license imposes a number of other requirements on gaming companies besides the self-exclusion feature. If a company fails to comply with these rules, it runs the risk of paying penalties, as the Swedish Gaming Authority scrutinizes the market for violations of the rules. The purpose of all the requirements is partly to create fair competition in the market, partly to protect consumers and to discourage unhealthy gambling.
Tools to combat gambling addiction
The Swedish Gambling Authority recently reported that more than 80,000 people are currently turned off through Game Pause. Thus, the feature is clearly a well-used tool against gaming addiction. Gambling addiction is a serious problem, and it can be very difficult for someone with a gambling addiction to quit on their own.
Sometimes it is difficult to see for yourself that you have fallen into the addiction, and it may be necessary for a family member, colleague or friend to alert the affected person to the problems and offer help. Both those who have problems themselves and relatives can contact the Hotline for support, for example.
Other points of the regulations should also help to counteract gambling. Among other things, the deposit limit, which should be set by all casinos and betting shops, allows customers to decide. This means that each person gets a maximum amount of money to be deposited in their account, for example, in a week. The limit cannot be exceeded. Gambling companies with a Swedish license are also obliged to detect a sudden increase in a person's gambling so that they can possibly take action.
Safety first
According to the survey mentioned earlier in the text, Swedes primarily value the safety, security and control that a Swedish gaming license entails. The survey was conducted by the Gambling Inspectorate in cooperation with the SCOP in 2021. About 3,000 people were surveyed. It turned out that one in three plays online at least once a quarter. One in four played monthly or more often, and 16 percent played weekly.
Lotteries and number games were the most popular, followed by trotting and betting on sports other than trotting. Twenty percent played casinos, such as slot machines. One in 10 who gambled online also responded that they themselves or someone they knew had encountered gambling too much.