Betsson awards Fifth Scholarship for Best Student Thesis

This award is being given out twice yearly to the best thesis on gambling and problem gambling in Sweden. Betsson also awards prizes for gambling research in Malta and in Germany.

Mr. Lindwall says that the aim of the award is to increase awareness and interest in the area of problem gambling and thereby contribute to the development of preventive measures, particularly in relation to the young and other vulnerable groups.

Sofia Lieberg authored a thesis that describes the unclear situation as to who has the responsibility to provide treatment for persons with gambling problems. The entitlement to treatment for gambling problems is not expressed in Swedish law as opposed to the treatment of alcohol and drug addiction. This causes a situation whereby local council/social or health authorities often refer to voluntary organizations. In fact local health authority representatives often claim that since it is the Swedish state that organizes gambling and collects the revenues, they should also provide funding for the treatment of problem gamblers.

Ms Lieberg’s thesis also uncovers that there may be certain organizational shortcomings that delay appropriate measures but also the use of dependency screening instruments that do not include problem gambling and thereby are likely to fail to pick up problem gamblers at an earlier stage.

The panel of jurors selected Ms Lieberg’s submission among several other strong contenders due to its relevance and poignancy to the current situation for problem gamblers in Sweden which rarely gets any news coverage. The thesis has practical applicability and highlights the important work carried out by volountary organizations who are working for problem gambling to be considered a societal problem and not just an individual problem.