The metastases of winning: Svenska Spel advertisements through the lens of a Žižeko–Lacanian critique of ideology

In a time when the privileged market position of Svenska Spel is under intense scrutiny by EU officials and pro‐market ideologists, this study provides a critical reading of the advertisement material issued by this Swedish state‐run gambling operation. Drawing on a ?i?eko–Lacanian critique of ideology, the essay identifies and theorizes different kinds of enjoyment promoted in a number of TV advertisement campaigns issued by the company. By taking recourse to the Lacanian notion of jouissance, the study throws light on the radical ambiguity that resides in the gambling win – an ambiguity which manifests itself in the win being pictured as both pleasurable and painful. Moreover, the essay suggests that Svenska Spel entirely excludes the enjoyment derived from the gambling experience as such from its advertisement material, possibly as a consequence of the threat that the promotion of such enjoyment would pose to the company’s legitimacy.