The leader of Sweden's Democratic party might have a gambling problem

Jimmie Akesson, the leader of Sweden Democrats, has been caught gambling away large sums of money on unregulated sites just two days before the elections. At first he told media that this did not impact his political role, but now he admits he might have a gambling problem.

Akesson, 35, has allegedly gambled and lost 500,000 SEK, which roughly equals around $70,000, which is half of the politicians annual salary.

Sweden's government has been heavily fighting offshore online gambling operators for the past few years. Currently, there is a monopoly on the market, with government licensed Svenska Spel offering regulated online gambling, but the revenues have steadily dropped in the past few years and Swedish people are more likely to gamble on foreign, unregulated sites.

This includes Akesson, who gambled on sites that were licensed in Malta, not in Sweden.

Once the case was publicized, Akesson told the media: "I have no gambling debts, I have not committed any crime, I have not been using someone else's money than my own. I have not been affected by this in my life in any way, I have not been influenced in my political role in any way. I think this is important to highlight."

The political opposition and social media were not pleased with Jimmie's dismissive attitude, and criticized him strongly for his actions, and Akesson quickly changed his stance, and admitted that maybe the media is right, and that he might have a gambling problem. 

"When you call and ask questions about this, it becomes clear like like an alarm clock", Akesson said.