The issue of public gambling advertising is currently a controversial topic worldwide. With governments looking to tackle runaway problem gambling, these marketing tactics have come under sharp criticism lately. But gambling operators and public media have argued that banning gambling adverts may reduce funding for critical services like sports and healthcare.
In Sweden, the gambling industry was lucky to evade a daytime ban in 2022. This decision has proved right after the Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen) said the country recorded the lowest gambling advertising since 2018.
According to the authority, regulated gambling operators in Sweden invested SEK 3.4 billion (€280 million) in advertising activities in 2022. This represents the gross advertising spending on traditional media channels like TV and radio.
It's worth noting that the 2022 ad expenditure is less than half of the SEK 7.3 billion (€620 million) reported in 2018 when Sweden re-launched its gaming market. This was after the country started issuing new licenses per the 2018 Gaming Act.
In 2018/2019, the gaming sector came under sharp scrutiny, with accusations of extensive by the local media. Ardalan Shekarabi, a former minister of social security, was then asked by the government to oversee the formulation of gambling market policy before recommending an advertising review as part of the “Gaming Market Inquiry”.
The most recent statistics from Spelinspektionen show that since 2018, gambling advertising spending on conventional media like TV, radio, and print services has fallen yearly. Initially, gambling adverts by sports betting and casino operators were criticized by organizations and politicians, terming them the riskiest gambling products.
The latest report reveals an equitable distribution of gambling ad spending across all sectors. Below is how the general public consumed the gambling ads:
But Sweden is not alone in the push to have gambling adverts reduced. In Australia, a parliamentary inquiry report proposed a phased ban in less than 3 years. The same scenario is ongoing in the United Kingdom, with Chelsea, a top-flight Premier League side, pulling out of a shirt sponsorship deal with a locally regulated betting firm.
