The gambling regulator of Britain has condemned that Meta has allowed the illegal casino advertising to take root in Facebook and Instagram, and thus it is gaining illicit revenue at the expense of the users.
On 20 January 2026, Tim Miller of the UK Gambling Commission disclosed that such sites have a form of willful ignorance until they are formally informed about it.
Shocking Ad Invasion
Miller noticed during the ICE Barcelona trade show that online casino promotions of dubious nature are quickly served to users browsing the Meta feeds.
Even though many of these adverts specifically target audiences in the UK, they frequently do not mention GamStop, which is the national self-excluding program that protects problem gambling.
His counterargument is that the detection systems at Meta should preemptively identify such keywords like on GamStop; however, advertisements are still being shown.
The illegal gambling market in the UK has expanded to make up 9% of the entire online gambling industry, or a staggering £379 million in the first half of 2025, according to anti-fraud platform Yield Sec.
According to Miller, Meta suggested that the Gambling Commission should use its own artificial intelligence tools to find and report illegal ads.
The tech giant promised to remove ads once notified, he said.
“I would be very surprised if Meta, as one of the world’s largest tech companies, is incapable of proactively using their own keyword facility to prevent the advertising of illegal gambling. 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.”
Why Does It Persist?
The underlying cause of this continued lapse of oversight appeared quite obviously to be profit motives.
The majority of Meta’s income comes from advertising. 98.6% of Family of Apps revenues and 97.7% of total revenues in the third quarter of 2025 came from advertising.
Miller cautioned that they prefer not to look, thus making Meta an accomplice in enabling frauds that victimize a vulnerable group of people, 87% of adolescents in 2025 in the United Kingdom said they saw gambling material on social media.
Zoë Osmond OBE, Chief Executive of GambleAware, commented:
“Digital technology has transformed how children and young people consume content, with mobile phone ownership widespread and many spending hours daily on social media. Social media platforms and influencers now play a pivotal role in shaping attitudes and behaviors and this research shows that some are playing a part in encouraging young people to gamble. It is unacceptable that children’s environments continue to be flooded with age-restricted content. Consistent exposure to influencer-driven gambling content contributes to the normalization of gambling amongst school aged children and we know that early exposure to gambling at a younger age can lead young people to have a higher risk of experiencing gambling harm later in life.”
Path Forward
Supporters say cooperation is a prerequisite, Meta has promised improving artificial-intelligence-based detection. However, critics have demanded fines on a similar scale with the one issued in 2023 against the EU due to the breach of privacy laws.
The UK research process is projected to intensify by mid-2026, Stiffer audits and mandatory GamStop integration would sterilize user feeds but will rely on Meta prioritizing its user base over monetary gain and will be monitored with great caution by the forthcoming changes in policy or lawsuits.