A young man identified as Simon has publicly criticized Region Stockholm for what he describes as inadequate handling of gambling addiction services. Simon, who began gambling at age 15 and struggled with addiction for nine years, reportedly sought help multiple times but continued to relapse. "It's like they don't understand," he told SVT Stockholm.
The problem reportedly started with computer games where transactions involving digital assets allowed circumvention of Swedish age limits for gambling. According to statistics from the Central Association for Alcohol and Drug Information (CAN), 14 percent of boys in year 2 of high school had risky gambling behavior in 2025, while 10 percent of boys in year 9 were affected. In a related development, the Swedish National Audit Office (Riksrevisionen) recently published a report highlighting deficiencies in the state's and other authorities' work addressing gambling addiction.
It's like they don't understand