The Public Health Agency of Sweden reports that adults in Gävleborg gamble for money significantly more than the national average, though the exact comparison figure is not specified. Among high school students, 24 percent in year 2 across Sweden gamble for money, with those in Gävleborg County also exceeding the national average, according to the Centralförbundet för alkohol och narkotika. The agency's surveys on gambling have been ongoing since the beginning of the 2000s, providing a long-term data backdrop.
Not everyone who gambles develops a gambling addiction, but the number of gambling addicts increases as more people start gambling for money, officials note. According to SVT Gävleborg, Maria Berggren described gambling addiction as associated with mental illness and crime, highlighting broader societal impacts. The specific links between gambling addiction and crime in Gävleborg remain unclear, as do current trends in addiction rates over recent years.
In response, a major effort is being made together with social services, schools, and Region Gävleborg to address gambling addiction, according to Berggren. The exact measures included in this initiative are not detailed, and the individual roles of these entities are unspecified. This work falls under ANDTS, an abbreviation for alcohol, narcotics, doping substances, tobacco, and gambling addiction, as defined by official sources.