Svenska Spel adds five million for gambling research
Svenska Spel is adding a further five million kronor to independent research into gambling problems and gambling addiction for 2026. The money goes through the company’s independent research council, which has existed since 2010, and the announcement followed a knowledge day in Stockholm on 12 October.
What has changed
Svenska Spel is continuing its long-term commitment to independent research on gambling problems and gambling addiction, and in 2026 five research projects will share a total of five million kronor through the company’s independent research council. Since the council was founded, Svenska Spel has invested over 100 million kronor in independent research on gambling and gambling problems through the same body.
The company frames the initiative as something that benefits society as a whole, not just its own operations, by contributing knowledge that can help prevent and reduce gambling-related harm. Communications director Frank Hojem has described the work as a long-term way of giving society better conditions to spot risks early.
On 12 October, the research council together with the Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs, CAN, held a knowledge day in Stockholm. A recurring theme was the need for better preventive measures, particularly for children and young people, as well as how existing knowledge can be used more effectively in care and support services, alongside the importance of collaboration between research, authorities and other actors in society.
What it means for you
This is not a decision by Spelinspektionen, and it does not change your account, terms or bonus eligibility at Svenska Spel or any other licensed operator. But the initiative reflects a wider obligation that comes with a Swedish licence: operators must work actively to prevent gambling problems, not just offer games.
If you feel your own gambling is taking up too much space, there are tools available no matter which licensed operator you use. You can read more about how Spelpaus works, and if you want to talk to someone, Stödlinjen.se is available. More on how Swedish operators approach player protection can be found on our responsible gambling page.
The bigger picture
The research council is not a one-off effort. In 2025 it already distributed five million kronor across six projects, and the total had by then passed 100 million kronor in support for research on gambling and gambling addiction since starting in 2010. Svenska Spel has also for several years funded Sweden’s only professorship in gambling addiction at Lund University, where the company has decided to fund the professorship with 2.5 million kronor per year through 2027.
As a state-owned company, Svenska Spel has a somewhat different mandate from the commercial operators in the Swedish market. But the research funding illustrates a broader point for anyone playing with licensed operators: the Swedish licensing system is built so that gambling revenue also flows back into knowledge and protection, not only profit. That is part of why a Swedish licence differs from sites without one, where such obligations do not exist in the same way.
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