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UK Gambling Commission challenges Meta over illegal gambling ads on its platforms

Regulation

The UK Gambling Commission challenged Meta over advertisements for unlicensed gambling sites on Facebook and Instagram, raising the issue in a speech in Barcelona on 19 January. Executive director Tim Miller said the Commission could find ads targeting Great Britain users through Meta’s public ad library and criticised the company’s reliance on reports before removing them. Meta had not responded to requests for comment.

The Commission’s criticism puts Meta’s ad controls for gambling promotions targeting people in Great Britain under scrutiny.

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Gambling Commission presents UK illegal gambling estimates challenged in report

The Gambling Commission presented new UK illegal-gambling estimates on 5 November 2026, based on survey data collected between April 2025 and April 2026. A report questions the Commission’s description of illegal-market participation as low and stable, citing the newness of the measure, the survey sample and other indicators, including a 12% rise in September 2026 activity against the previous three-month average.

The Gambling Commission, Great Britain's gambling regulator, presented new illegal gambling figures on 5 November. Sue Young, the Commission's executive director of operations, said in the press release that participation in the illegal market appears low and stable on these indicators. The report questions that description.

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