Sweden Appoints Zandra Milton to Lead Inquiry on Youth Gambling Harm and Operator Marketing
TL;DR — Sweden appointed Zandra Milton to investigate youth gambling harms, map licensed and unlicensed marketing and habits, and propose protections focused on boys and young men where risky gambling has doubled to affect one in five. The probe weighs safeguards against unlicensed market growth and examines Spelpaus support plus time limits. Findings are due February 2028.
SCCG Take — Licensed operators face potential new marketing curbs and financial checks. The inquiry will test if protections can be tightened without accelerating migration to unlicensed sites.
The Swedish government has appointed Zandra Milton, chief legal officer at Karolinska Institutet, to lead an inquiry into gambling among children and young adults. The investigator will compile existing knowledge and submit proposals for measures that strengthen protections, with particular attention to boys and young men.
Scope of Sweden’s Youth Gambling Inquiry
Milton will map marketing from both unlicensed and licensed gaming companies. The assignment includes mapping the gambling habits of children and young adults on the licensed and unlicensed market and investigating whether the gambling market is being used to find and exploit vulnerable young people in criminal activities.
If necessary, the investigator will propose measures to counteract such recruitment. The inquiry will map existing efforts to limit children and young people’s access to lottery features, casino features and the like in computer games and analyse the need for further measures. New protective measures must be weighed against the risk of increased gambling at gambling companies without a Swedish licence.
The review will also examine support in the event of suspension on spelpaus.se, the need to review young players’ financial situation when gambling, and mandatory time limits.
Ministerial Priorities and the February 2028 Deadline
Health Minister Elisabet Lann (KD) stated: “In just a few years, risky gambling among young men has doubled and one in five is affected. Therefore, we need to strengthen protection and prevent gambling from leading to health issues, debt or being drawn into crime.”
Minister for Gender Equality Nina Larsson added: “Boys and young men are greatly overrepresented among those who get caught up in gambling addiction. I am also concerned that the proportion of boys with risky gambling has doubled in recent years. We must reverse this negative trend. Preventing young men from getting caught up in problematic gambling is an important gender equality issue.”
The inquiry must report back to the Ministry of Health by February 2028. According to reporting by Focus Gaming News, the effort requires balancing tighter safeguards against the possibility that overly restrictive steps could push activity toward unlicensed operators. The outcome will test whether enhanced youth protections can be structured to preserve the integrity of the licensed market rather than undermine it.
Reporting: Focus Gaming News
Generated by SCCG’s automated editorial system from published source reporting. SCCG Management holds editorial responsibility.
Swedish operators face new marketing and financial checks, but only if rules don't push youth to unlicensed sites.
This is the first European inquiry explicitly balancing youth protection with black-market migration risk. If Sweden tightens rules on licensed operators without choking unlicensed supply, it becomes the template for every mature market wrestling the same tradeoff. We are watching because our partners need to know when regulation helps and when it backfires.
- Inquiry maps both licensed and unlicensed youth marketing, with report due February 2028
- Risky gambling among young men doubled; one in five now affected
- Proposals must weigh protections against driving players to unlicensed sites
SCCG angle: SCCG works with Nordic operators, regulators, and tech suppliers across 545 partnerships. When Sweden drafts these rules, we connect clients to the responsible-gaming platforms, age-verification vendors, and policy advisors who shape what actually works without feeding the black market. We help you get ahead of the blueprint.
Gaming, betting and prediction markets — the desk’s read, every weekday.
Subscribe →