Swedish Trotting Bets: What the ATG–Demoskop Survey Reveals

For many Swedes, trotting bets are part of a shared day at the track – a social, live‑sport setting that helps explain why these players report higher life satisfaction in the Demoskop survey. Photo: Micke Andersson. © Alamy.

What trotting bettors feel – and why they play

When the survey asks what emotions people most associate with gambling for money, trotting stands out. Trotting bettors are more likely than other gamblers and non‑gamblers to mention excitement, anticipation, challenge, curiosity, community, joy, mental stimulation, relaxation, and pride when they think of gambling. Across the full set of feelings, trotting players consistently tick more boxes than those who only play other games or do not play at all. In the qualitative comments, respondents describe trotting as “exciting when it is shown live, like trotting” and say that a stake feels like “an entrance ticket to a live event.” Others mention that it is fun to bet on trotting, football, or hockey on Saturdays, and that having a betting system for products like V86 adds entertainment, as long as it stays at a normal level.

When trotting bettors are asked directly why they play, 66 percent say “the chance to win money” is one of their reasons, but the picture is broader than pure profit.

Around three in ten mention the excitement when the races are on, and similar shares highlight entertainment and passing the time, or say they are interested in trotting and racing as a sport. Some emphasize the social side – playing together, having something to talk about – while others point to the appeal of analyzing and “calculating” outcomes, with a sense that knowledge and skill matter. Smaller groups mention reasons such as following races and broadcasts, relaxing and taking a break from everyday life, habit, or “something I have always done.” One respondent sums it up: “I usually do it because I hope to win a few small amounts (or a big win), but I mostly do it because it is a bit fun and exciting.”

The survey also finds gender differences in motives. Men who bet on trotting are more likely than women to say they play for entertainment: around 33 percent of male trotting bettors list entertainment or pastime as a reason, compared with 22 percent of female bettors – a gap of 11 percentage points.

This suggests that while both sexes are drawn by the chance to win, men are more likely to frame trotting as a leisure activity in its own right.

Swedes aged 55+ place ATG trotting bets in a retail shop, showing how horse wagering fits into everyday gambling habits in Sweden. Photo: Michael Folmer. © Alamy.

Life satisfaction and attitudes to gambling companies

One of the more striking findings in the report is that trotting bettors report higher life satisfaction than both other gamblers and non‑gamblers.

Asked how satisfied they are with their life in general, 88 percent of people who play on trotting and racing say they are very or fairly satisfied, compared with 83 percent on average. Similar patterns appear when respondents rate satisfaction with their finances, health and social life: across these dimensions, trotting players tend to score as satisfied or more satisfied than those who only play other games or who have not gambled at all in the past year.

The survey does not claim that trotting betting causes higher life satisfaction – it is just as plausible that people who feel more secure and engaged are more likely to bet on trotting, but the correlation challenges stereotypes of regular bettors as necessarily more dissatisfied or marginalized than the rest of the population. For an industry audience, this is a reminder that “the gambling customer” is not a single profile and that product‑specific motives and contexts matter.

The study also explores Swedes’ attitudes to whether gambling companies should be allowed to operate in the country at all. When asked, “Do you think gambling companies should be allowed to exist in Sweden, provided they follow laws and rules?” 61 percent answer yes, 19 percent no, 13 percent maybe and 8 percent do not know. Men are more positive than women: 68 percent of men say yes, compared with 54 percent of women. Trotting bettors are more positive still: 88 percent of those who play on trotting and racing think gambling companies should be allowed, compared with 67 percent among those who play other types of games. Political sympathies again play a role: parties in the traditional right-of-center bloc are strongly positive, while support is weaker among Green and Left Party voters, with Center Party and Social Democratic voters in the middle.

This survey focuses on gambling participation, motives and attitudes, and does not measure problem gambling or gambling‑related harm; its findings need to be read alongside regulatory data on harm and channelisation when assessing the overall impact of Sweden’s gambling market.

Overall attitudes: legitimate – under conditions

Across the trotting‑specific and general questions, a consistent pattern emerges. First, trotting is a product with a distinct emotional profile and a strong social component: many respondents frame it as live entertainment, shared activity, and a sport they care about, not just as a way to win money. Second, trotting players, as a group, appear relatively satisfied with their lives and finances, and they tend to hold more positive views of gambling companies than other respondents.
Third, overall public acceptance of gambling companies in Sweden is clearly conditional: the majority’s “yes” response is explicitly tied to the requirement that operators comply with laws and regulations.
For gambling professionals, the Demoskop data underscores the importance of understanding not just how often people play, but what they think they are doing when they gamble.

Trotting bettors describe something closer to paid participation in a live, knowledge‑based hobby than to isolated, high‑speed play. At the same time, the finding that most Swedes will accept gambling companies only “if they follow the rules” is a reminder that legitimacy rests on conduct, not just on licenses.

Where the first article in this series, Public perceptions of the horse industry and gambling’s role in Sweden, looks at how Swedes connect horses to meaningful leisure and youth development, this second part focuses on how trotting and other gambling products fit into everyday life – as habits, hobbies and social anchors.

For operators, surveys like this can only build trust if they are more than a one‑off PR exercise – the insights have to feed back into product design, safer‑gambling measures and how a regulated offer is actually run. For readers working in a licensed market, that is the real opportunity: to use this level of detail to align commercial strategy, consumer protection, and regulatory expectations, rather than treating them as separate conversations.

For readers used to international benchmarks, Kindred’s “Journey towards Zero” shows both the potential and the risks of transparency reporting. By publishing a quarterly figure for the share of revenue from high‑risk gambling – and tracking how many of those customers change their behaviour after interventions – Kindred has positioned itself as one of the more data‑driven and open operators on the market. At the same time, that openness has invited sharper scrutiny, with headlines focusing on how much revenue still comes from harmful play rather than on the downward trend.

The lesson for any licensed operator is clear: transparency can be a powerful way to build trust, but it only works if the numbers are backed up by visible changes in conduct and a regulatory framework that turns reporting into real accountability.

Further Reading & Key Sources