Self-exclusion in numbers.
This is not a press release. It is the figures that exist, with sources and a downloadable file, and the figures that do not exist yet. The page is updated when the regulators answer our public-records requests.
B4GAMBLE earns commission from licensed casinos. None are shown on this route.
How many are self-excluded
| Sweden, 31 December 2023 | 104,301 | Spelinspektionen, annual statistics |
|---|---|---|
| Sweden, 31 December 2024 | 120,607 | Spelinspektionen, annual statistics |
| Sweden, 31 December 2025 | 134,484 | Spelinspektionen, annual report 2025: 101,803 men, 32,681 women |
| Sweden, 31 March 2026 | ≈ 138,000 | Spelinspektionen, quarterly statistics, rounded |
| Denmark, 31 May 2025 | 60,000 | Spillemyndigheden: 58 percent of registered men are under 40 |
The tables may be used freely with attribution (CC BY 4.0). The figures are the regulators'; we only collected them. Denmark: /data/rofus-registrations.csv.
The periods
Spelpaus: 10 days (since July 2026, the first change since 2019), 1, 3 or 6 months, or until further notice (12 months minimum); cannot be cancelled; accounts reactivate automatically. ROFUS: a 24-hour pause, 1, 3 or 6 months, or permanent exclusion; a temporary exclusion cannot be lifted early. Neither covers unlicensed sites.
What nobody publishes
The regulators publish how many people are excluded. They do not publish:
- how many choose the shortest period, and whether they come back and register again
- how many exclusions expire each month
- how many pauses end in the week the salary arrives
- what happens the day after
Our public-records requests
We have requested monthly registrations by period, sex and age, the number of people registered more than once, and the number of exclusions that expired each month, from both regulators. The answers are published here as they come, with case numbers, even when they are refusals.
Status: requests sent in October 2026.
What it sounds like afterwards: 4,211 forum posts
A sample of open posts on a Swedish debt forum about gambling and debt, coded by theme. No quotes are reproduced; the forum is about the time after the loss – refunds, the enforcement authority, days without gambling – not the evening before.
| Posts in the sample | 4,211 | Lånforum, tags for gambling addiction and gambling debt; 71 threads; collected 12 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| About refunds, GDPR or gambling history | 502 | keywords in the text; one post can belong to several rows |
| Mention Spelpaus or self-exclusion | 307 | same method |
| Count gambling-free days | 253 | same method |
| Anxiety, shame or lies | 192 | same method |
| Partner or parents | 187 | same method |
| Enforcement authority or debt collection | 134 | same method |
| The salary | 110 | same method |
| “Win it back” | 16 | same method |
| “I'm in control” | 8 | same method |
Method: keyword search in the text of the posts; one post can belong to several themes; dates are missing for most of the sample and will be added before the next version. Flashback and Reddit, where the language before the loss lives, are not included yet.
The day after
The question is not how many pause. The question is what happens the day the accounts open again. For that day there is a free plan without an account, and no casinos are shown on that route.
The plan for the day after