Sweden Launches Inquiry Into Gambling Harm Among Young Men

^{Rosenbad, the seat of the Swedish government in Stockholm, where the inquiry into gambling harm among young people was announced on 3 September 2026. (Photo: Jan Ainali / Wikimedia Commons)}

Sweden's government has ordered a national inquiry into gambling harm among children and young adults, with a specific focus on boys and young men, who officials say have seen risky gambling rates double in just a few years. The Ministry of Health announced the inquiry on 3 September 2026, appointing Zandra Milton, chief legal officer at the Karolinska Institutet medical research institute, as special investigator.

Healthcare Minister Elisabet Lann said in the announcement that gambling problems have become 'a serious and rapidly growing social problem, especially among young men, who are at risk of very serious harm,' adding that one in five young men is now affected by risky gambling.

What the Investigator Will Examine

Milton's assignment covers both the licensed Swedish market and unlicensed operators serving Swedish players. She will compile evidence on how children and young adults gamble, review marketing from licensed and unlicensed operators to identify further restrictions on exposure to minors, and examine whether the gambling market is being used to recruit vulnerable young people into criminal activity.

'Boys and young men are greatly overrepresented among those who get caught up in gambling addiction,' Gender Equality Minister Nina Larsson said in the government's statement, translated from Swedish, framing the issue as a gender-equality priority.

The inquiry will also look at lottery and casino-style features inside video games and whether Sweden needs further rules to limit children's access to them, a question regulators in several other markets have raised as loot boxes and similar mechanics have grown more common. Milton is instructed to study other countries' regulatory approaches before recommending measures for Sweden, and to weigh any new restriction against the risk of pushing players toward gambling companies without a Swedish licence, which fall outside the country's consumer protections.

Spelpaus, Time Limits and Financial Checks

Financial Markets Minister Niklas Wykman said a 'safe and healthy gambling market' requires both government and gambling companies to take responsibility for protecting people at risk of harm. In line with that, the inquiry will review support available to players during self-exclusion periods on spelpaus.se, Sweden's national self-exclusion register, and consider whether financial checks on young players and mandatory time limits on gambling sessions are needed.

Sweden has moved on similar consumer-protection grounds before; regulators previously moved to restrict the use of credit cards to fund gambling, and the country's approach to player protection has been cited elsewhere as a model other markets have looked to when adopting comparable responsible-gambling practices.

What Happens Next

Milton must deliver her findings and recommendations to the government by 29 February 2028, giving the inquiry roughly 18 months to complete its review. The government has not indicated whether any interim measures will be introduced before the final report, and it remains unclear how quickly proposed restrictions, if adopted, would apply to operators licensed outside Sweden. Full details of Milton's mandate are set out in the government's press release.