Advertising for online casinos and betting companies has become more and more common in the public in recent years, and after liberalization at the turn of the year, the amount of game advertising has increased explosively. In both the Melodifestivalen and in popular podcasts, on TV, in public transport and in celebrity's Instagram accounts, advertising is now seen daily for the gaming companies.

At the same time, as the Culture News previously reported, the number of Swedes with gambling addiction problems has increased over three years. In money, gaming companies are estimated to have spent almost SEK 7.5 billion on advertising in 2018, nearly doubling compared to two years earlier, according to a survey by Kantar Sifo.

- My message is simple: The situation with game advertising is not sustainable. We must severely limit the game advertising. The companies were given an opportunity to act and come back with self-regulation, but our assessment is that this self-regulation is not enough, says Minister of Civil Affairs Ardalan Shekarabi (S) in to the Culture News.

Can force a restriction

The government and civilian minister Ardalan Shekarabi (S) have previously warned the gaming companies that they must regulate the amount of advertising, but now the minister wants to go further - and is now launching an investigation into regulations and possible bans.

The assignment comes in the suites of a meeting the Minister of Civil Affairs had with the gaming industry in February. The purpose of this is to urge the gaming companies to 'take measures to remove the aggressive game advertising'. According to the Minister of Civil Affairs, the meeting did not provide sufficient proposals for measures that the industry itself can take.

- We will need to sharply limit the game advertising and focus on the areas where we have the greatest risks. Especially online casinos, where we know that the consumer is exposed to major risks, says Ardalan Shekarabi.

Shekarabi: "Noticeable Change"

Ardalan Shekarabi emphasizes that work on the new investigation should proceed - the final date is set for October 2020.

- It will be a noticeable change. This work will be completed during this term and we will have a high pace throughout this process. This is for the Swedish state to regain control and protect consumers.

Among the points that the government is now giving the Gambling Market Review to consider are several different options for measures: One wants to investigate, among other things, the consequences that a total or partial ban on gambling advertising would have, and to investigate whether specific restrictions should include more dangerous games.

But a ban is not the only conceivable measure: The inquiry will also investigate whether gambling advertising should be subject to similar rules as alcohol and tobacco, which have far more severe restrictions on how and where to market their products.

- There is definitely an opportunity for the investigator to have the same rules for gaming advertising that we already have for tobacco and alcohol advertising. We have also asked the investigator to conduct a dialogue with the existing constitutional investigations. This is because we do not want to rule out basic amendments if necessary.

You have also previously opened up for a total ban on game advertising - how far away is it?

- Of course, this is a last-minute option. We ask the investigator to look at many different opportunities to limit game advertising. But for us, it is important not to rule out any alternative.