SGA: Self-exclusion loophole is “serious and extremely inappropriate”

The Swedish Gaming Authority (SGA) has said it is “serious and extremely inappropriate” for consumers to continue to gamble while self-excluded.

The regulator provided its reaction to EGR following the release of an academic study from Lund University, which discovered that nearly 40% of self-excluded Swedes are still gambling online.

Researchers Anders Håkansson and Carolina Widinghoff found that 38% of individuals signed up to the country’s Spelpaus self-exclusion register were still able to gamble.

Of those 38%, more than half (52%) gambled via online casinos, while 16% continued to partake in online sports betting.

The SGA said: “It is of course serious and extremely inappropriate for vulnerable people to be tempted to gamble during their self-exclusion. We hope that we will be able to minimise that risk in the future.”

However, the SGA did contest some of the contents of the study, citing the fact the researchers had included land-based gambling in its 38% figure.

The SGA added: “The self-exclusion tool, Spelpaus.se, concerns registered gambling only, not restaurant casinos and land-based lotteries.”

Of the 38%, 21% gambled via land-based lotteries while 4% wagered in restaurant casinos.

Finally, the SGA went on to state that while the data set from the study was “relatively small”, it would endeavour to look further into the research and find solutions.

“It may be worth noting that the data is relatively small in the current report, but we will take a closer look at it,” the SGA concluded.