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Estonia is suffering from a gambling harm hazard risk, a new study into societal trends from 2023 has shown.
The Gambling Addiction Counselling Center of Estonia (HNK) has revealed that 10% of Estonians are currently endangered by problem gambling, with numbers being taken from a study by data analyst firm Kantar Emor.
One of the driving factors for the current rate of problem gamblers according to Kantar Emor is the marketing strategies being employed by gambling companies.
The data analyst says that 76% of the general public has been at one point targeted by gambling ads, which is a 7% increase from the number in 2021.
A worrying trend has also been highlighted, where 4% of children aged between 11 and 16 have gambled at least once in the previous week. The percentage of children in that age group at risk of becoming problem gamblers has been shown to be 5%.
In an interview with Estonian media outlet ERR, Silver Sternfeldt, the CEO of the Gambling Addiction Counseling Center (HNK), commented: “As a society, we have not yet reached a point where we know how to gamble responsibly or demand responsible gambling operations.”
Gambling ads have become a significant topic for the political stage in Estonia. At the start of this year, policymakers came together to discuss a draft law that would see harsher restrictions being imposed on social media influencers who are promoting gambling.
The draft amendments are expected to be completed by the end of this year as a result of consultations with industry shareholders and additional studies into the matter, with a potential enforcement scheduled towards the second half of 2025.
