The Swedish Longitudinal Gambling Studies (SWELOGS) has presented a report on the main findings from the 2008/2009 prevalence study. It the first national study in ten years to measure the prevalence of gambling and problem gambling. SWELOGS is a managed by the Swedish National Institute of Public Health. I have been a member of the SWELOGS advisory board since the inception of the project.
The study presents a wealth of findings on gambling in Sweden. Among the results may be mentioned that the numbers of gamblers have decreased. Among adult Swedes, 70 percent have gambled in the past year, compared to 88 percent ten years ago.
Problem gambling rates, however, are about the same. According to the SOGS-R screen, about two percent of the adult population has current gambling problems (scoring 3 or more points); according to the PGSI 0.3 percent are problem gamblers (scoring 8 or more points). Among young males (aged 18-24) problem gambling is twice as common today as it was ten years ago. About one in ten men in this age group have gambling problems.
