The Netherlands’ gambling regulator reported more than 4,600 illegal gambling advertisements to Meta in April, in the latest sign of a widening confrontation between regulators and social media platforms over the black-market.
The Kansspelautoriteit said the ads appeared on Facebook and Instagram and were promoting unlicensed gambling operators targeting Dutch consumers. The regulator added that tackling illegal online gambling was one of its priorities, with particular attention being paid to marketing practices on social media.
“Illegal gambling providers place many advertisements on social media,” the Ksa said. “They use names and logos of well-known Dutch athletes and major brands to increase their reliability.” The regulator added that “for consumers, it is often difficult to see whether a gambling provider has a licence,” and said it was stepping up reports to large media companies to protect users from illegal operators.
Social media as gambling infrastructure
The April figures will add to pressure on Meta, which has faced repeated criticism from gambling regulators and investigators over illegal gambling advertising. Earlier this year, the Ksa’s British counterpart, the UK Gambling Commission, also accused the company of failing to curb ads for unlicensed casinos on Facebook and Instagram, including promotions aimed at users searching for sites “not on GamStop”, Britain’s self-exclusion scheme.
Tim Miller, the commission’s executive director, told an industry event in January: “It’s time to pick a side, and so we all need to start asking ‘Whose side are you on?’” Miller also described Meta’s ad library as “effectively a window into criminality”, adding: “If we can find them, then so can Meta: they simply choose not to look.”
Meta has previously said it enforces strict advertising policies on online gambling and removes ads that break those rules once identified. “We’ve been working closely with the Commission to identify and remove all the flagged ads found in violation of our policies, and we’re using this intelligence to further improve the proactive detection tools we already have in place,” a spokesperson said in response to the UK criticism.
Channelisation problem deepens
For the Netherlands, the Meta ads are not just an enforcement issue. They feed into a larger and increasingly uncomfortable debate about channelisation.
The country’s regulated online gambling sector shrank sharply in 2025. According to the Ksa’s annual report, the legal online market fell by 18.5 per cent, while the regulator estimated the illegal online market at €617m in the first half of the year, compared with €600m for the legal market.
In the first half of 2025, around 94 per cent of players gambled exclusively with licensed operators. Yet those operators captured only 49 per cent of gross gambling revenue. That suggests a smaller group of heavier-spending players is moving outside the regulated system, where deposit limits, affordability checks and duty-of-care rules do not apply. The Ksa has admitted that the decline in revenue channelisation may be linked to players moving to illegal sites after new protection measures were introduced in October 2024.
Licensed operators have argued that tighter advertising, sponsorship and spending controls have made it harder for the legal market to compete. The Netherlands completed its ban on sports sponsorship by gambling companies last July, while higher gambling tax and stricter customer checks have added further pressure.
The Ksa, however, has made clear that enforcement against illegal operators will remain a priority. It said recent work with companies and organisations had focused on illegal ads on social media, including how brands can protect their logos from misuse.
The regulator said insights from recent talks with partner organisations would be used “to act even more effectively” against illegal gambling providers on social media.
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