Sweden’s gambling regulator is mounting an awareness campaign for its Spelpaus self-exclusion program after concluding that Swedes had increased their gambling activity during the pandemic lockdown.

This week, Sweden’s Spelinspektionen regulatory body announced a new campaign to remind the nation that there was a system in place to prohibit access to gambling products. Around 58k individuals have to date signed up for the Spelpaus program, which launched in tandem with the country’s regulated online market in January 2019.

Spelinspektionen spokesperson Anders Sims noted a new market survey indicating that the percentage of online gamblers who are aware of Spelpaus has risen from 54% in 2019 to 71% this year. Sims said this was “fine, but it could be even better.”

The new campaign, which will run through mid-January, features 13 different banner ads across a variety of websites, pushing not only the existence of Spelpaus but also educating viewers as to signs of potential problem gambling behavior. The new messages have a particular focus on women, relatives of problem gamblers and individuals whose first language isn’t Swedish.