Gambling about money is a frequent phenomenon in our modern community’s. The gambling has for some people resulted in a compulsive gambling. These consequences affects not only the gambler but also have impact on his or hers relatives. The purpose of this study is to describe how a small selection off relatives to persons with a compulsive gambling experience the gambling consequences in there life. The empirical material consists of five interviews with five relatives to persons with a gambling dependence. Coping theory, theory of crises and a systemic perspective has been used to analyse the empirical material. The results that appear are that the relatives have all described early signs that they at the time could not interpret. They have felt that the gambler has been absent in mind. The discovery of the gambling describes as a chocking experience. They have created there own cooping strategies. The relatives show a great amount of strength and they have drawn positive experiences from a difficult reality like better relations and communication with the gambler, and can see that they have to take care of them selfs and not only care for the gambler. The study also indicates that family ties are hard to brake, especially between parents and there children.

This thesis engages in discribing Czech gambling law and it's recent development in preparing a very new gambling act. The goal of this diploma thesis is to point out at the biggest problems of so far existing gambling act and at what way they should be dealt in the new one. I use two main economic theories to explain reasons of issuing new act. The first one is The Theory of Interest Groups and the other one is Theory of Public Interest which are applied at the case of Czech Republic. Next goal of this thesis is an analysis of popularity of all gambles according to sum of money gambled and money paid back. I also describe a historic development of gambles and it's regulation and show that the ability to innovate new ways to evade the law had very often no limits and the regularors have never been able to make up a clear set of rules that would be unavoidable.

Title: ”… Then came the realization that I was just like them. That I have a gambling addiction…” This is a qualitative study of four former gamblers and their experience of getting out of the gambling addiction. The study is about how individuals have overcome a gambling addiction. The purpose of this study is to examine the social processes and factors that are of importance when overcoming a gambling addiction. In addition, the study focuses on how individuals experience the change from gambling addiction to a life free of that addiction. In this thesis, I conducted a qualitative study in the form of semi-structured interviews with four former gamblers. The theoretical approach concentrated on Ebaugh’s (1988) role exit theory and Giddens’ (2005) identity formation theory has been used to illustrate the interviewees' experiences of gambling addiction and their identity as addiction free. The study shows that the gambling addiction has brought economic, social and health-related impacts and some of these aspects still exist today. The exit out of a gambling addiction has been a process with different phases and events where the process for some has been incrementally with relapses during the journey. Based on my results, the changing process appears to consist of parallel turning points where different and more significant events give rise to role exit. The study shows the need of continuous social support in combination with gambling association support efforts and the gamblers’ own insight, motivation and freedom of action. It appears that the interviewed have accepted their role that they had left behind and they take careful consideration to the past and the future and try to make more conscious choices and build their new identity. This is done by actions and re- evaluations of themselves and their world. It is based on their lives, by their own choices. However, these choices seem to be limited by conditions that occur in the interaction with the environment, social norms and social situations.

Denna studies syfte är att belysa hur professionella som i sitt yrke möter hjälpsökande spelberoende individer uppfattar och reflekterar kring möjligheten att arbeta med hjälp och behandling av spelberoende utifrån sin organisations förutsättningar och ansvar. Studien har genomförts genom djupintervjuer med professionella inom kommun, landsting, en privat ägd behandlingsorganisation och en nationell organisation inriktade mot spelberoende i syfte att erhålla en så bred bild av spektrumet som möjligt. Resultatet från datainsamlingen har analyserats med hjälp av det organisationsteorietiska perspektivet konsekvenslogik och Meeuwisse och Swärds modell (2002) om vad som är ett socialt problem och hur det skall hanteras. I studien framkom att det idag finns omfattande nationella problem vad gäller ansvarsfördelningen av behandling för spelberoende vilket resulterar i att behandling av spelberoende inte utförs eller utförs med vissa restriktioner. En förklaring till dessa problem upplevs vara avsaknaden av en allmän och erkänd definition av spelberoende som inkluderar huruvida det ska behandlas som en psykiatrisk diagnos eller som ett beroende likt alkohol- och narkotikaberoende. / The purpose of this study is to provide information on the way professionals in Sweden encounter individuals with a gambling addiction, to show how they perceive and reflect on their ability to help and treat these individuals whilst fulfilling their responsibilities to their organization and their client. The study is based on interviews with local authorities, health care representatives, private treatment organizations and a national help organization, all of which specialize on gambling addiction. This is in order to show the full spectrum of gambling problems.  The results of the empirical data have been analyzed using two methods. The first of which is a model developed by Meeuwisse and Swärd (2002), which explains the definition and handling of a social problem. The second method utilizes the “consequences of logic” perspective within the organizational theory. The results indicate that the issue involving gambling addiction is problematic on a national level, in regard to the distribution of responsibilities. This has shown that treatment of gambling addictions is either not performed, or performed under certain restrictions. These problems can be attributed to the lack of a widely used and acknowledged definition of the term gambling addiction. This makes it difficult to judge whether the condition should be treated as a psychiatric disorder, or as an addiction not dissimilar to alcohol or narcotic addictions.

This is a qualitative study where the purpose was to investigate what professionals experience to be the reason for an individual to become addicted to gambling and continues to gamble even though it leads to negative consequences. The purpose was also to investigate what the professionals experienced was of importance for an individual to recover from a gambling addiction. The study was based on qualitative semi-structured interviews with knowledgeable individuals in the field. The main findings of the study were that the motivation for individuals with a gambling problem to continue gamble was that they saw gambling as the solution to their problems by winning back lost money. It was common that gambling was an escape from anxiety, guilt, shame, and other gambling-related problems such as financial liabilities. Identification with others in the same situation and a supportive network was important factors for a successful treatment and to recover from a gambling addiction. / Detta är en kvalitativ studie där syftet var att undersöka vad professionella som arbetar med behandling av spelberoende upplever vara anledningen till att en individ blir spelberoende och fortsätter spela trots negativa konsekvenser. Syftet var även att undersöka vad de professionella tror vara viktigt för att en individ skall tillfriskna från ett beroende. Studien baserades på kvalitativa halvstrukturerade livsvärldsintervjuer med kunniga personer inom området. De viktigaste resultaten av studien var bland annat att motivationen för en person med ett spelberoende att fortsätta spela var att individen såg spelandet som lösningen på sina problem genom att spela tillbaka förlorade pengar. För många handlade spelandet om en flykt från ångest, skuld, skam och andra spelrelaterade problem som exempelvis ekonomiska svårigheter. Identifikation med andra i samma situation och ett stöttande nätverk var viktiga faktorer för en lyckad behandling och för att lyckas ta sig ur ett spelberoende.

Although gambling is a common recreational activity, it results in harm for as many as 6% of individuals in the United States. The harm may be in the form of financial, social, or psychological. A variety of assessments are used to diagnose gambling-related harm and facilitate treatment. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) incorporating motivational enhancement techniques and goal setting are used to treat gambling harms. The components of CBT generally include identifying triggers and high-risk situations, coping with internal and external triggers, increasing other pleasurable activities, cognitive restructuring, and relapse prevention.

The aim of the study was to examine how professional social workers who work with addiction in both nonprofit and municipal organizations, describe and work with women with gambling addiction from their perspective as professionals. This was done to try to contribute with further knowledge regarding women with gambling addiction in social work. We wanted to examine the professionals who work with gambling women out of perspectives from theories about gender and stigmatization to explore differences in treatments, speech and the addiction itself between men and women. This study has shown the conclusions that women may need other kind of support to become free from gambling, according to structural inequality and differences in gender expectations that make women more familyoriented, vulnerable and shameful, also in a gambling addiction. By not emphasizing the structural circumstances leading up to and forming the gambling addiction, the women risk not receiving right, or any, treatment if professionals do not learn how to recognize gambling addiction in women and how the addiction can portrait different from men. This study has also shown that support from partner have displayed to be crucial for the gambling man in overcoming his addiction, where women do not seem to have the same amount of support from home and therefore do not have the same basis of getting through their addiction either.

In January 2018 a new social law took effect in Sweden. The new law included gambling addiction as an area of responsibility for the Swedish social workers. Because the law is relatively new there is not a lot of studies about how the Swedish workers perceive gambling addiction. The aim of this study is therefore to understand how the social workers from different communes in Sweden perceive gambling addiction, and to find out if implementation of the law has succeeded and what the amendment has brought. The methods used in this study was qualitative e-mail interviews and a qualitative interview via Zoom. The results of this study showed that the social workers have a lack of knowledge concerning gambling addiction. Another result was that the communes had implemented the new law by offering treatments and financial support.

Online casino var tillgängligt för 10 år sedan men inte i samma utsträckning. Samtidigt harspelindustrin expanderat och onlinespel har blivit mer tillgängligt genom teknikutvecklingenför telefoner och surfplattor. Online casinos prioritet är att få nöjda kunder som tycker omspel och plattformen de använder. För att uppnå detta måste webbplatserna ha höganvändbarhet och användarupplevelse. Spelberoende är ett stort problem för många individeri dagens samhälle och detta måste lösas genom att hjälpa de personerna som behöver hjälp.Det faktum att en individ har utvecklat ett spelberoende innebär fara och risker för individenoch för individens omgivning. Marknadsföring är mycket mer vanligt och tydligt på TV,telefoner, tidningar och reklam utomhus, men det som sällan finns är hur riskabelt det kanvara att börja spela online casino. Denna forskning syftar till att undersöka förhållandetmellan användarupplevelser i online casino och spelberoende. Användarupplevelsen kanbidra med olika intryck och känslor som uppstår när de interagerar med en digital produkteller tjänst. Syftet med användarupplevelsen är att involvera design och samtidigttillhandahålla en upplevelse där resultatet är att få användarna att känna något unikt ochspeciellt. En viktig sak att notera är att spelberoende kan vara närvarande trots att det inteorsakar problem och kan utlöses genom marknadsföring exempelvis. Denna studie innefattarockså att granska och mäta användarupplevelse för spel webbapplikationer med Nielsensheuristik / grundprinciper. Tidigare studier och relaterade arbeten om användarupplevelse ochspelberoende är en del av denna studie. Denna studie inkluderar tolv semistruktureradeintervjuer där informanterna är eller var spelberoende i online casino. Informanterna ombadsatt förklara för tidigare och nuvarande erfarenhet av online casinospel som exempelvisvadslagning, brädspel och spelautomater. Ett syfte med dessa semistrukturerade intervjuer varatt undersöka och försöka förstå om användarupplevelse påverkar utvecklingen avspelberoende. Ett annat syfte med denna studie och med dessa intervjuer är att hitta ett sättför online casino att minska spelberoende för en positiv förändring i det svenska samhället. / Online casino was available 10 years ago but not in the same extent. At the same time theOnline gambling industry has expanded and online gambling has become more accessiblethrough the development of technology for phones and apps. Online casino priority is to getsatisfied customers who enjoys gambling. To achieve this the websites need to have highusability and user experience. Gambling addiction is a social problem which need to improveand help those who need help. The fact that an individual has developed a gambling addictioninvolves danger and risks for the individual and people who are related. Marketing is verycommon and clear on television, telephones, newspapers and advertising outdoors, howeverwhat is rarely found is how risky it can be to start playing online casino. This research aims atexploring the relationship between user experiences in online casino and gambling addiction.User experience could make all the impressions and emotions that occur while interactingwith a digital product or service. The purpose of user experience is to involve designing andat the same time provide an experience where the result is to make the users feel somethingunique and special. One important thing to note is that gambling addiction can be presentdespite it not causing a problem and can be triggered thru marketing for example orsomething else. This study involves reviewing and measuring an gambling web applicationsuser experience with Nielsen's heuristics / foundational principles. With previous studies andrelated studies about user experience and gambling addiction being a part of this study. Thisstudy includes twelve semi-structured interviews where the informants is or was gamblingaddicts in online casino. The informants was asked to explain for past and present experiencewith online casino games such as betting, board games and slot machines. One purpose withthese semi-structured interviews were to investigate and try to understand if user experienceaffect the development of gambling addiction. Another purpose with this study and with theseinterviews is to find a way for online casino to reduce gambling addiction for a positivechange in the Swedish society.

Syftet med denna kvalitativa uppsats är att undersöka och kritiskt reflektera hur de berörda aktörerna i Halmstad utifrån befintliga resurser arbetar förebyggande med spelproblematiken. Detta vill vi undersöka i relation till den snabba utvecklingen av spelmarknaden och samhällets risker samt hur dessa påverkar utvecklingen av spelberoende. Genom att analysera samverkan mellan olika aktörer har vi skapat en bild om hur arbetet inom spelproblematiken utförs i Halmstad. Studien tolkades ur ett hermeneutiskt perspektiv och analyserades med stöd i utvalda teorier. Risksamhällets teori kompletteras med utgångspunkt i begreppet ackumulation genom fråntagande och relateras till spelmarknadens utveckling och spelreklam som bidragande faktorer till att börja eller fortsätta spela om pengar. Riskerna belyses ur ett mikro- och makroperspektiv där individers livsvillkor och samhället i stort påverkas. Teorin om Jämlikhetsanden, bidrog till en förklaring om strävan efter en högre social status genom snabba pengar. Den lärande organisationsmodellen användes som komplement till den byråkratiska modellen för att nå en utveckling inom samverkan i arbetet. Med utgångspunkt i begreppen personliga bekymmer och allmänna problem beskrevs en viktig del av resultatet som visade ett stort mörkertal i frågan.  Från och med den 1 januari 2018 är kommuner, landsting och regioner förpliktade att förebygga spelproblem. Det innebär att personer med spelproblem har samma rätt till hjälp och stöd som personer med alkohol- eller drogproblem. Resultatet visade att lagändringen inte implementerats på samtliga verksamheter och att det finns ett behov av utveckling inom det förebyggande arbetet. / The purpose of this qualitative study is to map how the invlovled actors, based on existing resources, work preventively with the gamblingproblem. We want to examine how the work is carried out in relation to society's risks and development, and how these factors influence the development of gambling addiction. By analyzing the interaction between different actors, we have created a picture of how the work with the gambling problem is carried out in Halmstad. The study was interpreted from a hermeneutic perspective and was analyzed with support from selected theories. The risk society's theory is supplemented on the basis of the concept of accumulation by dispossession and is related to the game market's development and gambling advertising as contributing factors to starting or continuing to play for money. The risks are highlighted from a micro- and macro-perspective where individuals' living conditions and society as a whole are affected. The spirit level theory contributed to the explanation about the pursuit of a higher social status through quick money. The learning organizational model was used as a complement to the bureaucratic model in order to achieve a development within collaboration at work. The structural issues and personal troubles concept, an important part of the result was described, which showed a great deal of darkness on the issue. As of January 1st, 2018, municipalities, county councils and regions are obliged to prevent gambling problems. This means that people with gambling problems have the same right to help and support as people with alcohol or drug problems. The result showed that the change to the law was not implemented on all activities and that there is a need for development in the preventive work.