New data from CasinoTempen 2025 show that approximately one in five of all Swedish casino and betting players say that they have been diagnosed with a mental health condition at some point in their lives. The survey gives new insight into gambling behaviour, expenditure, self-exclusion and demographic differences between active players.
The article provides key findings with complete data tables and context.
How Many Players Have Been Diagnosed with a Mental Health Condition?
All were asked, “Have you ever been diagnosed with any type of mental health condition in your lifetime?” Respondents were split between casino players and betting players.
5% of casino players answered “don’t know” or “prefer not to say”. Among gamblers, that figure was 4%.
Important note: The question was if anyone has ever been diagnosed, not if they are currently struggling with a mental health condition. A past diagnosis is not an illness today.
How Do the 2025 Numbers Compare to 2024?
The same question was asked in CasinoTempen 2024, which makes a year-over-year comparison possible.
| Group | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
| Casino players | 23% | 21% | −2 percentage points |
| Betting players | 19% | 19% | No change |
The numbers are stable. There is no significant shift between years. Casino players remain slightly higher than betting players on this metric, which was also the case in 2024.
The Gender Split Is Significant
The data broken down by gender shows a clear difference. Female players are 2.4 times more likely than male players to report a diagnosis of a mental health condition.
| Group | Male players with diagnosis | Female players with diagnosis |
| All players (total) | 13% | 29% |
| Age 18–26 | 13% | 34% |
| Age 41–50 | 17% | 20% |
The greatest number in the complete data set was young women ages 18-26 where 34% reported a prior diagnosis. In the 41–50 age group, the difference between male and female players is much lower, at just 3 percentage points.
It’s also worth mentioning that women are statistically more likely to seek out mental health diagnoses and treatment at large. The difference in these numbers may partly reflect that, not necessarily a different level of underlying difficulty.
Why Do Players Gamble? Comparing Those with and Without a Diagnosis
The survey also examined the reasons for gambling and whether these varied between players diagnosed with a mental health problem and those without.
Casino Players: Reasons for Playing
| Reason given | had a mental health diagnosis (105 respondents) | No mental health diagnosis (372 respondents) |
| Finds it hard to stop | 10% | 7% |
| To take a break or clear their head | 19% | 17% |
| The excitement of playing | 44% | 46% |
| It is fun to win money, even small amounts | 55% | 58% |
| Pastime, e.g. when waiting | 34% | 34% |
Betting Players: Reasons for Playing
| Reason given | Has/had a mental health diagnosis (97 respondents) | No mental health diagnosis (388 respondents) |
| Finds it hard to stop | 4% | 2% |
| To take a break or clear their head | 10% | 7% |
| To challenge themselves | 11% | 14% |
| To make money now or in the future | 26% | 18% |
| To compete with or against friends | 18% | 17% |
| It is fun to win money, even small amounts | 62% | 73% |
| Sport becomes more exciting when I have money on it | 52% | 52% |
Most of the motivation figures are very similar in the two groups. Two other important differences between betting players relate to the reasons for gambling. Those with a previous diagnosis are more likely to report gambling to make money (26% vs. 18%) and less likely to report the fun of winning as the main reason (62% vs. 73%).
The “hard to stop” figure, while small in absolute terms, is consistently higher among players with a past diagnosis across both casino and betting categories.
Self-Exclusion (Spelpaus) and Mental Health
Sweden has a national self-exclusion system called Spelpaus and players can put their gambling accounts on hold. The survey examined whether players with a mental health diagnosis were more likely to have used, or be currently using, this system.
| Group | Diagnosed: used Spelpaus | Not diagnosed: used Spelpaus |
| Betting players 2024 | 28% | 72% |
| Betting players 2025 | 35% | 65% |
| Casino players 2024 | 32% | 68% |
| Casino players 2025 | 26% | 74% |
Among betting players who have a mental health diagnosis, the share who have used Spelpaus has grown by 7 percentage points between 2024 and 2025. That number dropped 6 percentage points among casino players during the same period. The survey data alone cannot explain the reasons for this opposite movement but the trend for betting players may be an indication of a rising awareness or increased use of available tools within that group.
Spending and Frequency Among Players with a Mental Health Diagnosis
The survey asked about monthly spending on gambling. The differences between those with and without a diagnosis are not dramatic, but some patterns appear.
Betting Players: Monthly Spend
| Monthly amount (SEK) | Has/had a diagnosis | No diagnosis |
| 1–99 kr | 41% | 34% |
| 100–199 kr | 24% | 20% |
| 200–999 kr | 26% | 30% |
| 2,500–10,000 kr | 3% | 2% |
| 10,000+ kr | 2% | 1% |
Casino Players: Monthly Spend
| Monthly amount (SEK) | Has/had a diagnosis | No diagnosis |
| 1–99 kr | 28% | 27% |
| 100–199 kr | 23% | 23% |
| 200–999 kr | 30% | 26% |
| 1,000–2,500 kr | 8% | 12% |
| 2,500–10,000 kr | 6% | 5% |
| 10,000+ kr | 3% | 2% |
For betting players, a slightly higher proportion of those with a past diagnosis spend at the lower end of the scale (1–99 kr). For casino players, a slightly higher proportion with a diagnosis spend in the higher brackets (2,500 kr and above). The differences are small across most rows.
Also Read: Why Online Casinos Are Turning To Adult Entertainment Stars For Marketing
How Often Do Players Gamble?
| Frequency | Betting: has/had diagnosis | Betting: no diagnosis |
| Last 12 months, not last quarter | 26% | 23% |
| Around once a quarter | 23% | 21% |
| Around once a month | 29% | 21% |
| Around once a week | 14% | 27% |
| Every day or almost every day | 8% | 6% |
The frequency data for betting players shows a notable pattern. Those without a diagnosis are more likely to gamble about once a week (27% vs 14%), while those with a past diagnosis show a higher concentration in the monthly frequency range. Daily gambling is slightly more common among the diagnosed group (8% vs 6%).
| Frequency | Casino has a diagnosis. | Casino: no diagnosis |
| Last 12 months, not last quarter | 28% | 25% |
| Around once a quarter | 20% | 20% |
| Around once a month | 25% | 26% |
| Around once a week | 19% | 17% |
| Every day or almost every day | 7% | 6% |
Among casino players, the frequency figures between the two groups are close across all categories. The difference in daily play is only 1 percentage point.
What This Data Does and Does Not Tell Us
The CasinoTempen 2025 data is useful and has obvious limits. The survey asks about self reported past diagnoses, not current conditions or gambling disorder status. Someone who was diagnosed with depression at 20 and has recovered completely still would be included here. That counts when you read the percentages.
What the data does reveal is that a significant proportion of Swedish gamblers, some 1 in 5, have been diagnosed with a mental health condition at some point in their lives. That’s not wildly out of step with the wider Swedish population, where mental health diagnoses have steadily risen across all demographics over the past decade.
The most notable result is the gender difference. It’s a figure that operators and researchers alike need to look at, with 34% of young women who gamble reporting a past diagnosis. But this survey alone cannot tell us whether this is due to greater help-seeking behaviour, a genuine health disparity, or something specific to how and why young women gamble.
The self-exclusion trend among betting players, where use among those with a past diagnosis increased by 7 points in one year, may suggest that awareness campaigns around tools like Spelpaus are reaching the people most likely to benefit from them.
Source
All data in this article comes from CasinoTempen 2025, a survey conducted by Casinofeber.se. The original Swedish-language research was written by Tommy Kindberg and reviewed by Emma Sjokvist.
Original source: casinofeber.se Psykisk ohälsa och spel om pengar (CasinoTempen 2025)
This article was prepared for iGamingXP based on the publicly available research findings. All figures are reproduced accurately from the original data tables.
