Gambling Firms Sue Meta Over Illegal Betting Ads

Meta illegal betting ads have surged to alarming levels, with more than 70,000 gambling advertisements appearing on the platform in the final quarter of 2025, of which over 95% came from illegal operators. As a result, Dutch gambling firms have taken Meta to court, challenging the tech giant’s handling of unlawful betting promotions.

The legal action highlights critical failures in Meta gambling ads policy, particularly the platform’s reactive approach of only removing advertisements after they are reported. The Kansspelautoriteit reports thousands of illegal ads to Meta each month, however, these advertisements remain visible for approximately a day and a half on average before quickly returning under modified names or web addresses. The situation has deteriorated to the point where illegal sites now outspend legal operators.

Dutch Gambling Firms Take Meta to Court Over Illegal Ads

VNLOK filed a lawsuit against Meta and submitted a complaint to the European Commission, claiming the social media company breaches the Digital Services Act by failing to remove illegal gambling content. The trade body, whose members include bet365, Unibet, and LeoVegas, seeks a court declaration that Meta violated the DSA and bears direct liability for illegal content on its platforms.

The legal action requests a compliance order backed by daily penalty payments for continued failures. In parallel, VNLOK asked the European Commission to investigate and impose sanctions.

VNLOK tracked Meta’s ad library throughout late 2025 and found on average more than 70,000 posts targeting Dutch users on Facebook and Instagram. Over 95% originated from operators without Dutch licenses, drawing tens of millions of views monthly. Meta removed fewer than 5% of these advertisements.

Detailed analysis reveals 96.9% of 61,717 ads in October, 97.2% of 84,493 ads in November, and 95.9% of 67,732 ads in December came from illegal operators. Impressions for illegal gambling ads peaked at 50 million in November.

Research conducted with XY Legal Solutions identified more than 15,000 illegal ads in March 2026 alone, generating an estimated 75 million impressions. People aged 18 to 24 accounted for 5.8 million impressions that month. Meta may generate at least €10 million annually from unlicensed gambling advertising.

How Meta’s Current Ad Removal System Fails to Stop Illegal Betting Sites

Britain’s Gambling Commission escalated criticism of Meta gambling ads policy in January 2026. Tim Miller, the regulator’s executive director, stated the platform turns a blind eye to illegal operations and continues accepting payments from criminals. Miller addressed delegates at ICE Barcelona, pointing to a critical flaw: Meta’s searchable ad library displays advertisements using terms like “Not on GamStop,” directly leading users to unlicensed sites.

GamStop functions as Britain’s self-exclusion scheme for online gambling. Illegal operators advertise their absence from this protection system, targeting vulnerable individuals who previously sought help. Miller emphasized that regulators can locate these advertisements through basic searches, yet Meta chooses not to deploy similar methods.

The Kansspelautoriteit filed over 4,600 reports with Meta during April alone. Despite this volume, the platform relies on external reporting rather than proactive detection. Users who report meta illegal betting ads describe a circular problem: the more advertisements they flag, the more similar content appears in their feeds. Meta suggested regulators should use AI monitoring tools, however Miller rejected this approach, stating the world’s largest tech companies possess the capability to prevent illegal advertising themselves.

Taiwan demonstrated Meta’s capacity for enforcement. When local laws mandated action against financial fraud advertisements, illegal content vanished from the platform.

Why Tighter Rules on Legal Firms May Backfire

Dutch authorities proposed a total ban on online gambling advertisements, building on restrictions implemented in July 2023 that eliminated TV, radio, and print promotions. The gambling industry warns these measures produce the opposite effect. VNLOK cited Kansspelautoriteit figures showing black market revenue surpassed legal market revenue in the first half of 2025. Legal market gross gaming revenue dropped from €697 million to €600 million during this period, a 16% decline attributed partly to new player protection rules including deposit limits.

In reality, the scale of unregulated gambling dwarfs licensed operations across Europe. Illegal operators captured 71% of the European Union’s online gambling market in 2024, generating €80.6 billion in gross gaming revenue compared to the legal market’s €33.6 billion. Over 6,200 illegal operators actively targeted EU consumers, exposing 81 million Europeans to unlicensed services. These platforms diverted more than €20 billion in tax revenue from European economies.

Consumer motivations reveal why restrictions fail. Players seek better odds and offers, games unavailable through regulated channels, alternative payment methods, and the ability to avoid stake limits imposed by legal sites. Correspondingly, illegal operators spend between £500 million and £700 million advertising their services, while licensed operator spending continues to decline.