The gambling sector is taking an increasingly combative stance against Facebook’s Meta, with now the Dutch getting in on the action.
Days after Tim Miller, the Chief of Research and Policy at the UK Gambling Commission, lambasted the Silicon Valley darling for not doing enough to combat illegal gambling ads, Dutch online gambling trade body VNLOK has done the same.
According to data quoted by the trade body, most gambling advertising material seen on Facebook by Dutch consumers is for illegal gambling websites.
For the period October-December, illegal gambling content made up more than 95% of the combined Facebook pages and individual pieces of gambling marketing on the social media platform.
Additionally, in November the illegal gambling ads across Facebook reached a total of 50 million impressions, VNLOK further stated.
In contrast, the trade body reported that Meta had removed a tiny fraction of the ads from its platform – 3% in October, 5.2% in November, and 4.7% in December – with illegal providers rolling out and replacing their marketing “at lighting speed”.
Björn Fuchs, Chairman of VNLOK, said: “These numbers are startling. The huge flow of illegal gambling ads on Meta platforms undermines player protection, but also undermines confidence in the legal market. Unfortunately, this problem is getting bigger and bigger.
“The promotion of illegal gambling websites on social media is expanding from social advertising to social content. Meta and other platforms are flooded with viral videos, in which the brands of illegal gambling websites are visible.
“This content specifically lures minor and young adult target groups to the illegal gambling offer, where the chance of gambling damage is very high.”
Now, VNLOK is calling for action, demanding Meta to strengthen its proactive detection of illegal gambling advertisements, urging the Dutch gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) to take more enforcement action against marketing companies and platforms that facilitate advertising, such as Meta.
The trade body is also requesting regulations that do not tie the hands of licensed operators – but instead help them sustain a more competitive offer than their black market counterparts.