Paf Partners with Meta on Pilot to Block Black Market Ads Reaching Swiss Players

Paf has entered a pilot agreement with Meta to prevent illegal gambling operators from advertising to Swiss players on Facebook. The initiative was announced by Jesper Eliasson, chief business development officer at Paf, during a panel at SBC Summit Lisbon. It stands in contrast to recent litigation against Meta by the Dutch trade body VNLOK. Paf will share licence documents and URLs for operators and affiliates so Meta can better distinguish regulated from unregulated activity. Work begins next week.

According to reporting by iGaming Business, the agreement was reached the same day. Eliasson met Meta representatives in Lisbon alongside Wolfgang Bliem, CEO of Grand Casino Luzern, which operates mycasino.ch. The Swiss site launched in 2019, reached €70 million in revenue after 16 months, and now generates more than €100m annually while commanding more than 30% of the market.

Targeting Fragmented Licensing and Offshore Operators

Eliasson cited the practical difficulties created by Europe’s patchwork of licensing regimes. “The licence may come from somewhere else, and it can be hard to detect in that mess of jurisdictions,” he said. Offshore operators exploit creative workarounds and, in some cases, “toothless jurisdictions.” The Swiss pilot is intended to test a model that could later scale elsewhere. Paf is contributing “nothing. Only time and talks” and plans to include the Swiss regulator at the table.

Eliasson made clear the commercial stakes. “I don’t want someone who doesn’t have a licence, hasn’t paid for the licence and the compliance work, and doesn’t take responsible gaming measures to share the market.” Bliem separately noted structural gaps in Switzerland: the absence of payment blocking and the lottery monopoly on sports betting, which directs customers offshore for better odds.

Regulatory Risks and the Path Forward

Heavy-handed product interventions, such as slowing games or banning titles deemed too risky, could prove counterproductive. “People are still free to use the internet, so they’ll go elsewhere for the best product,” Eliasson warned. “If politicians get too scared, we could easily end up with the reverse effect.” Swiss online licences remain tied exclusively to land-based casinos and carry progressive tax rates from 20% to 80%.

Eliasson acknowledged uncertainty over the pilot’s ultimate success but expressed confidence in the first step. If the effort falls short, Paf will rework it. The operator intends to sustain the dialogue with Meta regardless, aiming to establish a precedent that protects licensed operators across additional European markets.

Reporting: iGaming Business (iGB)

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