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UK Regulator Accuses Meta of Allowing Illegal Gambling Ads

By  |  January 20, 2026

Britain’s Gambling Commission has accused Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, of failing to act against illegal online casino advertising on its platforms, according to Reuters.

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    The regulator said on Monday that Meta was effectively ignoring advertisements from unlawful gambling operators, suggesting the company was willing to continue profiting from criminal activity. Per Reuters, the comments were made by Tim Miller, the Gambling Commission’s executive director for enforcement, during a speech at the ICE Barcelona trade show.

    Miller said that illegal casino promotions were widespread on Meta’s platforms and that most users would likely encounter them with minimal browsing. According to Reuters, he highlighted that many of the advertised gambling sites were not part of Britain’s GamStop self-exclusion scheme, which is designed to help people limit their online gambling.

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    Meta has claimed in the past that it only becomes aware of such ads when they are reported. However, Miller dismissed that explanation, calling it untrue, per Reuters. In his speech, he argued that Meta’s own searchable advertising library showed which advertisers openly stated their sites were “Not on GamStop,” making the issue easy to identify.

    “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,” Miller said, according to the text published on the Gambling Commission’s website and cited by Reuters.

    Read more: Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Netflix Set to Avoid Tough EU Curbs: Report

    Asked for comment, Meta defended its approach to online gambling advertising. According to Reuters, a company spokesperson said Meta enforces strict policies on gambling and gaming ads and removes any that breach its rules once they are identified. The spokesperson added that Meta has been working with the Gambling Commission to take down flagged ads and improve its detection systems.

    “We’ve been working closely with the Commission to identify and remove all the flagged ads found in violation of our policies, and we’re using this intelligence to further improve the proactive detection tools we already have in place,” the spokesperson said, per Reuters. Meta also said it encouraged continued cooperation with the regulator to protect users and legitimate advertisers.

    Miller remained critical, saying that if regulators could easily locate advertisers promoting non-GamStop sites, Meta should be able to do the same. “If we can find them then so can Meta,” he said. “They simply choose not to look,” according to Reuters.

    Source: Reuters