Who chooses to enroll in a new national gambling self-exclusion system? A general population survey in Sweden

Abstract

Background Self-exclusion from gambling is a common method for prevention and harm reduction in hazardous gambling. However, few national self-exclusion programs, involving a large number of gambling operators and activities in a country, have been assessed scientifically. This study aimed to examine characteristics of individuals who chose to enroll in a recently introduced (January, 2019) national self-exclusion system in Sweden. Methods Adults and adolescents (from age 16 and above) were addressed with an online survey sent to members of the web panel of a market survey company (1940 respondents). Psychological distress, previous history of addictive disorders, sociodemographic data, and recent history of gambling patterns and over-indebtedness were recorded. Logistic regression tested associations with self-exclusion, with unadjusted analyses conducted for the sub-group of moderate-risk or problem gamblers. Results Four percent reported having self-excluded using the new national self-exclusion system. In logistic regression, self-exclusion was significantly associated with younger age (OR 0.65 [0.54–0.79] for increasing age groups) and with the highest level of problem gambling (OR 2.84 [1.10–7.37]). In moderate-risk or problem gamblers, in unadjusted analyses, younger age (p < 0.05) and psychological distress (p = 0.02) were associated with self-exclusion. In none- or low-risk gamblers, 3% had self-excluded, which was significantly associated with younger age (p < 0.001) and self-reported over-indebtedness (p < 0.001). Conclusions In a national, multi-venue online and land-based self-exclusion system, aiming to reduce the harm of problem gambling, self-exclusion is expectedly more common in problem gamblers, but also occurs among people without recent gambling problems. Further efforts may be needed in order to increase gambling self-exclusion in problem gamblers, and research in reasons for self-excluding, even in non-problem gamblers, is needed.

Hooked on virtual social life. Problematic social media use and associations with mental distress and addictive disorders

“…The National Ethical Review Board, Sweden, approved the study in August, 2019, and stated it was not subject to Swedish ethics legislation as it does not involved identified personal data. The present study is based on data from the same overall online survey data collection as a different scientific publication in a separate line of research, a paper assessing history of voluntary self-exclusion in gambling through a novel multi-operator self-exclusion service in the present setting [ 51 ].…”

Gambling Despite Nationwide Self-Exclusion–A Survey in Online Gamblers in Sweden

“…Despite the theoretically broad coverage of such a system, there is limited knowledge about the extent to which overseas gambling and other non-regulated gambling opportunities may limit the performance of this self-exclusion system. A recent web survey from the present setting demonstrated that—unsurprisingly—respondents with problem gambling were more likely than the remaining respondents (who were not actively gambling or gambled but screened negative for problem gambling) to enroll in such a self-exclusion system ( 30 ). However, little is known about how such self-exclusion is influenced by the risk of gambling on gambling services not covered by the system, a theoretical risk particularly in settings with widespread online gambling opportunities.…”

No Apparent Increase in Treatment Uptake for Gambling Disorder during Ten Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic—Analysis of a Regional Specialized Treatment Unit in Sweden

“…It should also be noted that the present study assessed treatment uptake in adults, in a facility admitting patients from 18 years of age and above. Younger adults may be more likely to be problem gamblers than older people and, therefore, potentially represent a particular risk group [ 24 ]. However, treatment uptake is less distinctly defined for adolescents below 18 years of age.…”

“…Since January 2018, no other formal changes have been made to the treatment uptake regulations in the region. In January 2019, a new Swedish gambling act introduced a nationwide self-exclusion service [ 24 ], which attracted substantial attention by the media.…”