Criminal Response Measures That May Be Imposed on an Offender with Gambling Disorder in Selected European Countries and Australia

Abstract

Gambling disorder is a significant social problem and mental disorder. One of its negative consequences is the commission of criminal offences. The aim of the paper is to determine whether gambling disorder affects the criminal liability of an offender who has committed an offence related to gambling disorder and whether the criminal law instruments in selected European countries allow for the obligation of the offender to undertake addiction therapy. In Germany and Poland, where criminal law is based on the principle of fault, gambling disorder generally does not result in the conclusion that the perpetrator was insane at the time of the act. It is possible to assume that a perpetrator with gambling disorder was acting in a state of diminished capacity at the time of the act, but this is only in exceptional cases. In Sweden, where criminal law is not based on the principle of fault and there is no concept of insanity, gambling disorder can only affect the choice of the type of penalty imposed. In Poland, Germany and Sweden, it is possible to oblige an offender with a gambling disorder to undergo treatment with their consent. In all three countries this obligation take the form of a probationary measure/obligation. In Poland, placing such a person in a psychiatric hospital is excluded; in Germany, this is only theoretically possible; and in Sweden, it happens only exceptionally. There are no legal regulations in any of the analysed countries that would allow for the imposition of placement of such an offender in an inpatient treatment facility without their consent, although such a possibility exists in each country in the case of offenders addicted to alcohol or intoxicants.