EU Study Exposes Meta's Lapses in Verifying Licensed Gambling Advertisers
An EC study found Meta and similar platforms allowed unlicensed gambling ads and fake apps in restricted markets. VNLOK is pressing for EU legislative changes on advertiser verification, citing its DSA case against Meta and over 4,600 illegal ads seen in the Netherlands in April 2026. Regulators in Latin America are instead seeking closer cooperation with the platforms.
SCCG Take — Licensed operators need platforms to close these verification gaps quickly or black-market volume will keep eroding regulated share. The DSA offers regulators leverage that must now be tested in practice.
A new European Commission study has detailed how major platforms including Meta permit unlicensed gambling operators to run advertising campaigns, intensifying calls for stricter verification rules.
The research, carried out by Open Evidence and Spark Legal, lists online gambling among six fraud-prone marketing sectors. It states that ad systems let unlicensed operators target users with no valid local licence and that fake apps appear on legitimate app stores. The Kansspelautoriteit estimated more than 4,600 illegal gambling ads ran on Meta platforms in the Netherlands during April 2026.
VNLOK Demands Tighter EU Controls
Dutch trade body VNLOK is increasing pressure on Meta and similar platforms after the findings, building on its earlier court action. The group wants changes to EU legislation that would require advanced verification of gambling advertisers' licences and stronger detection of covert illegal campaigns.
Björn Fuchs, VNLOK Chairman, said: “This study clearly shows how enormous the fraud and scam challenges are on very large online platforms and search engines. This ties in directly to our court case against Meta and its responsibilities based on the Digital Services Act. These technical juggernauts combine reach, AI and audiences into a mix that is systematically being misused and thus needs more verification and filtering.”
Limits of Current Platform Cooperation
Regulators elsewhere are pursuing partnership rather than litigation. Lotería de la Ciudad in Buenos Aires told SBC Noticas it aims to strengthen cooperation with Meta and Google on blocking illegal adverts. Meta itself has shown some engagement, including a pilot partnership with state-owned Paf, while Google updated its certification policies to require gambling advertisers to demonstrate strong compliance records before eligibility in each jurisdiction.
The report, as detailed by SBC News, makes clear that Big Tech holds a crucial role in tackling black-market operators, yet the scale of misuse reveals persistent gaps in enforcement and detection that licensed operators continue to face.
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