Digital sessions strengthen match-fixing prevention, highlight gambling-related risks among athletes, and expose gaps in club-level safeguarding procedures.
Svenska Spel has concluded a comprehensive round of integrity and gambling-awareness training for teams and organisations across HockeyAllsvenskan, reinforcing its commitment to safeguarding both the sport’s credibility and the wellbeing of its participants. The initiative follows internal staff training carried out by Svenska Spel in Q4 2025, aimed at improving the organisation’s own understanding of match-fixing risks and gambling-related harm.
The recently completed training sessions, which ran digitally throughout October and November, form part of an ongoing collaboration between Swedish sports bodies, regulators, and integrity stakeholders. The primary objective was to equip athletes, coaches, and support staff with the knowledge required to recognise early warning signs of match manipulation and to strengthen pathways for reporting suspicious activity.
Although incidents of match-fixing within Swedish ice hockey remain limited, instructors underscored the importance of continuous education. Participants were briefed on the behavioural and operational indicators associated with manipulation, as well as the broader regulatory framework governing integrity protections within national and international sport.
A significant portion of the programme focused on gambling-related harm. This included a personal testimony from Daniel Harre, whose experience illustrated how problems can develop subtly and escalate without timely intervention. Research presented during the sessions showed that elite athletes face elevated exposure due to performance pressure, financial uncertainty, and the widespread availability of gambling channels.
Discussions across clubs revealed gaps in existing safeguarding structures. Many organisations lack formal protocols for identifying and managing gambling-related issues, often relying on informal observations by coaches or staff members. Trainers emphasised the importance of equipping those closest to players with the tools to intervene early and appropriately.
Erik Ryman, Sports Director at HockeyAllsvenskan, highlighted the dual purpose of the training: “Protecting the credibility of the sport is a fundamental foundation for us at HockeyAllsvenskan, but it is equally important to take care of the people behind it. Through training courses like the one we have just conducted, we build knowledge and security and we strengthen our players and leaders in daring to act when something does not feel right.”
The initiative comes as Svenska Spel recently published a detailed report containing 18 recommendations for regulatory updates, noting that young people and women in Sweden are disproportionately at risk of gambling harm. The operator also confirmed new supervisory efforts across its land-based venues, including on-site inspections and expanded documentation procedures, as part of its broader consumer-protection strategy.
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