Britain’s gambling watchdog has accused Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, of ignoring illegal online casino advertisements on its platforms. The regulator said the tech giant appears willing to continue earning money from unlawful operators.
Tim Miller, the executive director of the Gambling Commission, said that most users who spend even a short time on Meta’s platforms are likely to come across ads promoting illegal gambling websites.
He pointed out that many of these ads are for platforms that do not take part in Britain’s GamStop self exclusion programme for online gambling.
Miller said Meta’s claim that it only becomes aware of such ads after being notified is “simply false”. He made these remarks during a speech at a trade event in Barcelona, according to a statement published on the regulator’s website.
He added that Meta’s public ad library clearly shows advertisers openly stating that their websites are “Not on GamStop”.
“It’s effectively a window into criminality,” he said. “If we can find them then so can Meta. They simply choose not to look.”
Miller said the Gambling Commission has seen “very limited progress” in resolving the issue with Meta. He also said it would be surprising if the company could not use its own keyword tools to stop such ads from appearing.
“It could leave you with the impression 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 a response.
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