Britain’s Gambling Commission has accused Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, of failing to act against illegal online gambling advertisements on its social media platforms, alleging the company is knowingly allowing criminal operators to profit.
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Speaking at the ICE Barcelona gambling trade show, the regulator’s executive director Tim Miller said that users spending even a short time on Meta’s platforms were likely to encounter advertisements for unlawful online casinos.
He highlighted that many of these gambling sites do not participate in Britain’s mandatory “GamStop” self-exclusion scheme, which allows users to block themselves from online betting services.
Meta’s claim that it only becomes aware of such advertisements after being alerted was “simply false,” Miller said, according to the Gambling Commission’s published remarks. He pointed to Meta’s publicly searchable ad library, which shows advertisers openly stating that their platforms are “Not on GamStop”.
“It’s effectively a window into criminality,” Miller said. “If we can find them, then so can Meta. They simply choose not to look.”
Miller added that the Gambling Commission had made “very limited progress” in discussions with Meta on tackling the issue and said it was difficult to believe the tech giant could not deploy its own keyword detection tools to block illegal gambling promotions.
“It could leave you with the impression that they are quite happy to turn a blind eye and continue taking money from criminals and scammers until someone shouts about it,” he said.
Meta has been contacted for comment but had not responded at the time of reporting.
