Gambling ads on social media are often illegal

Most people in the Netherlands who have seen an ad for gambling on social media are seeing ads for illegal gambling businesses. In recent years, the Netherlands has become a prime example of the struggle between national regulator, the Dutch Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), and international digital giants that host gambling advertisements. According to information from the KSA, 95% of the gambling ads on Facebook are for illegal operations. Unfortunately, the Netherlands is not the only country that is combatting this issue. It is a systemic European crisis, from the west to the east. And there’s more bad news, as the illegal offshore businesses seem to win the war on social media.

Borderless battleground of social media

While countries like the Netherlands have strictly regulated their domestic markets, regulating digital platforms like Facebook or Instagram is a whole different story. The fact that these platforms are ‘borderless’ makes it easy for unlicensed casinos, often based in jurisdictions outside the European Union, to target European citizens. According to reports from the European Casino Association (ECA) and Yield Sec, illegal gambling content accounts for a staggering 92 percent of the gambling-related content in Europe.

In 2024, the number of illegal operators targeting EU citizens specifically, increased by over 26 percent. There are now 6,200 unique entities who target EU citizens. These operators do not pay any taxes and do not follow player protection rules. That’s why these operators seem to have endless budgets to flood platforms with ads that look legitimate. Regulated companies simply cannot match due to local legislation.

Hans van Brunschot, Editor of Onlinecasinoground.nl (a website owned by BCB B.V.) clarifies: “These figures are clear and concerning. Dutch players are reached en masse through social media, as Meta’s platforms are used by the Dutch public. This is bad news for the legal market, which must adhere to strict advertising regulations. It is also bad news for players. To prevent gambling addictions among players, the regulator has play and deposit limits in place. While legal online casinos in the Netherlands have to play by the rules, illegal casinos can ignore them.”

Why you shouldn’t gamble at these casinos

With so much choice between illegal gambling platforms, it is no surprise many Europeans have a hard time telling the difference between legal and illegal casino platforms. However, it is important to do your diligence and know in advance whether a casino has a license to offer their services for the local market. If you gamble at a legal casino online, you will be protected by local laws. All the games have been thoroughly tested, so that the result of each game will be fair. There are no mechanisms to influence the result of a game of blackjack or roulette. Illegal casino platforms can rig results. Also, they do not check on suspicious patterns. In reality, it means that visitors who are very vulnerable to gambling addictions, are not protected. And that’s a problem from the west to the east.

A problem from the west to the east

Take the United Kingdom for example. The country has been often seen as a bellwether for gambling regulations. But recent investigations have mirrored Dutch findings, accusing Meta (the parent company of Facebook) of “cashing in” on illegal ads, while the company publicly claims to prohibit them. According to Dutch data, only 4.7 percent of illegal ads have been removed by Facebook. The average ad for illegal gambling was visible for two days. 87 percent of the ads were removed within 24 hours. In the meantime, these ads stayed visible for Meta’s users. In total, ads for illegal gambling were shown 50 million times in December 2025 alone.

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) took an aggressive stance and issued over 3,100 cease-and-desist notices in early 2024. Between April and June 2025, over 80 illegal casino platforms were removed from social media. But it seems Meta isn’t removing ads quickly enough, because Meta needs to be ‘at least 95 percent certain’ that the ad is a fraud.

Why blocking doesn’t work

In Germany, the regulatory landscape is fragmented. The Joint Gambling Authority of the Laender (GGL) has tried another way to enforce the law, by ‘IP blocking’ and ‘payment blocking’. In this way, illegal advertising should be much more difficult. But in reality, German regulators admitted their biggest blind spot is illegal ads that use ‘cloaking techniques’. In this case, an ad looks like a harmless game or news article, but in reality, directly links to an illegal casino.

In Southern and Eastern Europe, there are ‘all out bans’ on gambling advertising. However, that led to banning legal ads too. Now it is much harder for consumers in these countries to distinguish between a licensed site and a criminal one. In Eastern Europe, over 80 percent of the market is captured by illegal operators. Regulators are not only struggling with Facebook ads, but also ‘influencer marketing’, where personalities actively promote unlicensed sites to young audiences.

Blocking isn’t a silver bullet, however. When one URL gets blocked by DNS, the operator can quickly spin up a new domain to evade the DNS blocking. Payment throttling like in Germany and Norway, seems to be a more successful approach. However, Meta and Google should take their responsibilities and block ads, as they are required by law.

Legal online casinos are the victims

The trade association for the Dutch gambling industry (VNLOK) states that it is unfair how legal casinos are treated now, while there is not much enforcement against illegal casinos. “I do understand that point of view. It’s very unfair that casinos that want to play by the rules and have properly applied for a license are disadvantaged by this. VNLOK represents legal online casinos that have to adhere to a very thick set of rules. But the advertisements of illegal casinos on social media also reflect on the legal market. It’s neither fair nor desirable. The ball is really in the court of the platforms and the KSA”, comments Hans van Brunschot.