Sami Kurvinen 
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Will UKGC sue Meta over illegal gambling ads?
The UKGC has taken steps to monitor ads using AI, and the BGC has sent an open letter to tech companies urging them to take responsibility and do their utmost to prevent illegal gambling ads from reaching UK residents.
However, is this enough, or should the next step be to sue Meta and the rest like they just did in the Netherlands?
Who has sued Meta and why?
The black market (illegal) has reportedly grown to be even bigger than the regulated (legal) part of the Dutch online gambling market, and this has led the Dutch online gambling association that consists of some of the biggest legal operators in the country to take action and sue Meta.
The reason for the lawsuit is that the Dutch online gambling association claims that Meta is doing little to nothing to prevent illegal gambling ads on Facebook and Instagram from being exposed to Dutch users.
The Dutch online gambling association is suing Meta in the EU for failing to block illegal gambling ads across their services.
Will the UK follow suit?
It’s important to note that the Dutch online gambling association is not a regulatory body but rather a group of major gambling companies that have had enough of the current situation and feel the need to take action.
However, will this be the beginning of something much larger, spreading to other countries and jurisdictions?
It will probably depend on the outcome of this lawsuit, but it’s clear that some stakeholders are getting fed up with the current situation and want to improve it.
UK is currently trying a different approach through the recently published open letter, but will that be enough, or is it necessary to take a more aggressive route to push through improvements and changes?
What is Meta currently doing to prevent illegal gambling ads from reaching users?
Meta, Alphabet (Google) and other publicly traded world-leading tech companies have two main agendas:
- Create world-class products or services.
- To make money.
Is Meta or its counterparts doing anything to prevent the black market from marketing their illegal services at the moment? The answer is that we don’t really know, as nothing has been communicated from their part yet.
For example, the Dutch online gambling association claims that Meta has refused to enter into any forward-looking talks regarding this issue for an extended period.
Time will tell whether the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) open letter to the major tech companies leads to any changes, or if the next step is to sue them to compel an active role and improve the situation.
