UK Gambling Commission accuses Meta of knowingly allowing illegal gambling ads

Updated: July 16, 2026 04:57 pm IST Source: 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.

Tim Miller, the independent regulator’s executive director, 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.

Key Allegations

• Meta’s assertion that it did not know about such ads until it was notified was “simply false,” Miller 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.”

Limited Progress

The Gambling Commission had made “very limited progress” on the problem with Meta, Miller said, adding that he would be very surprised if the tech company could not 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.

Published - January 20, 2026 09:32 am IST