Finance
Meta 'turning a blind eye' to illegal gambling ads, UK Gambling Commission says
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 19, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 19, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 19, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 19, 2026
The UK Gambling Commission accuses Meta of ignoring illegal gambling ads on its platforms, raising concerns about online casino promotions and regulatory compliance.
LONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Britain's Gambling Commission said on Monday that Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, was turning a blind eye to illegal online casinos advertising on its sites, indicating it was happy to continue taking money from criminals.
The independent regulator's executive director Tim Miller said that anyone who has spent even a little time on Meta's platforms would more than likely have seen ads in their feed for illegal online casinos.
Most notably, many of the ads were for sites that did not participate in Britain's "GamStop" self-exclusion scheme for online gambling, he said.
Meta's assertion that it did not know about such ads until it was notified was "simply false", he said in a speech at the ICE Barcelona trade show, according to the text on the Gambling Commission's website.
He said Meta's searchable ad library showed which advertisers said their sites were "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."
The Gambling Commission had made "very limited progress" on the problem with Meta, he said, adding that he would be very surprised if the tech company couldn't use its own keyword facility to prevent the ads.
"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 comment.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
The UK Gambling Commission is a regulatory body responsible for overseeing gambling activities in the UK, ensuring they are conducted fairly and transparently.
Illegal gambling refers to any gambling activity that is not authorized or regulated by the appropriate legal authorities, often involving unlicensed operators.
GamStop is a self-exclusion scheme in the UK that allows individuals to voluntarily exclude themselves from online gambling sites to help manage their gambling habits.
Illegal gambling ads promote unlicensed gambling operations or activities that are not compliant with local laws and regulations.
Meta's Ad Library is a tool that allows users to view all active ads on Facebook and Instagram, providing transparency about who is advertising and what they are promoting.
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