Meta is running ads for fake casinos and rigged apps in Australia. The regulator knows it. The law won’t let it act. That is about to change.
Meta faces scrutiny over illegal gambling ads in Australia after a Sydney Morning Herald investigation found Facebook and Instagram promoting offshore casinos, fake brand sites, and “scambling” apps. ACMA currently lacks power to compel removal. A federal bill introduced in July 2026 would change that from January 2027.
- The Australian Investigation
- Why ACMA’s Hands Are Tied
- The Netherlands Takes Meta to Court
- Meta’s Defence and the Critics’ Rebuttal
- What Happens Next
Meta faces scrutiny over illegal gambling ads across two continents, with Australia and the Netherlands moving to force the $1.52 trillion company to stop promoting unlicensed casinos on Facebook and Instagram. A Sydney Morning Herald investigation published on August 14 found the platforms running ads for offshore online casinos, poker machine apps, roulette and blackjack simulators, and fake sites impersonating Crown Melbourne and Star. Neither Crown nor Star operates online. The report identified affiliate marketers behind many of the ads. These operators earn ongoing commissions of up to 20 percent of a referred customer’s losses. Some ads direct users to “scambling” sites engineered so that winnings can never be withdrawn. The scale is hard to pin down, but the pattern is clear. Meta’s ad systems are monetising fraud.
The Australian Investigation
The Herald’s reporting documented ads for unlicensed operators appearing in Australian users’ feeds alongside content for legitimate businesses. Some ads used Crown and Star branding without authorisation. Crown and Star spokespeople confirmed they do not operate online platforms and employ specialist services to monitor for and take down spoof sites. However, the ads kept running. Affiliate networks place them. Meta’s systems approve them. Australian users click them. The result is a pipeline from social media to offshore gambling and outright fraud. The investigation found some sites are structured so that deposits are accepted but withdrawals are blocked. That is not gambling. It is theft dressed as gaming. The Herald’s reporting adds Australia to a growing list of jurisdictions where Meta’s ad platform has become a vector for illegal gambling promotion. As Asia Gaming Brief has tracked, regulators across the Asia-Pacific region are tightening ad rules as illegal operators exploit digital platforms.
Why ACMA’s Hands Are Tied
The regulatory gap sits in the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. ACMA told the Herald that before it can make an advertising breach finding, it must be satisfied that the majority of people accessing a given site are physically located in Australia. That threshold is close to impossible to meet for globally hosted platforms. In practice, ACMA can only ask Meta to remove offending content voluntarily. Meta can refuse. It can delay. It can comply selectively. There is no penalty for inaction. However, that constraint is set to change. The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026, introduced into federal parliament on July 2, would hand ACMA new powers to issue removal notices for illegal gambling advertisements on online content services. It would also require internet service providers, DNS providers, app distribution services and search engines to block access to designated illegal operators. The bill imposes positive obligations on banks and payment providers to block fund transfers to those services. Most provisions are scheduled to commence on January 1, 2027. The legislation was referred to a Senate inquiry due to report on August 17. ACMA’s enforcement record shows the scale it is dealing with. In 2025–26 the regulator investigated 70 offshore gambling services, found breaches in all 70, and secured the blocking of 49 websites. That is a 100 percent breach rate across the sample. Yet without the new powers, the regulator remains a request machine, not an enforcement body.
The Netherlands Takes Meta to Court
Australia is not alone. In the Netherlands, licensed-operator trade body VNLOK launched legal action against Meta in June and filed a parallel complaint with the European Commission. VNLOK alleges Meta has failed to stop illegal gambling ads reaching Dutch users on Facebook and Instagram. The numbers are stark. VNLOK says Meta’s platforms carried more than 70,000 gambling-related ads aimed at Dutch users in Q4 2025. It estimates over 95 percent came from unlicensed operators. Separate research commissioned with the group estimated illegal ads reached roughly 37.9 million Dutch users in March 2026 alone. A majority of impressions landed on people under 24. The Dutch case turns on the EU’s Digital Services Act. The DSA places the burden on the largest platforms to address illegal content once it appears at scale. VNLOK is asking a court to declare Meta in breach and directly liable, and to order compliance backed by daily penalty payments. That remedy has precedent. In a separate 2025 dispute brought by digital rights group Bits of Freedom, an Amsterdam court found that Facebook and Instagram had breached the DSA over user feed settings. The appeal court set penalties of up to EUR100,000 ($108,000) a day for non-compliance from January 2026. The Netherlands is testing whether an existing EU instrument can already force the issue. Australia is trying to build new powers from scratch. Both approaches will be watched closely.
Meta’s Defence and the Critics’ Rebuttal
Meta responded to the Australian reporting by framing illegal gambling as an ecosystem-wide problem. The company said it requires coordinated action from domain registrars, hosting providers and regulators with the power to block sites at source. It said it disabled ad accounts tied to the brand-impersonation activity. It noted that it removed more than 159 million scam ads globally last year. The numbers sound large. The critics are not convinced. Gambling Policy Hub director Lauren Levin told the Herald that Meta already filters comparable ads to satisfy local law in markets including Ireland and Indonesia. That raises a direct question. If the systems work there, why not in Australia? Charles Livingstone of Monash University’s Gambling and Social Determinants Unit made a similar argument. He pointed to Meta’s rapid response to copyright complaints from large brands. That detection capability exists. Meta has been slower to deploy it against unlicensed casinos. The rebuttal is simple. Meta can filter when the commercial or legal incentive is strong enough. Gambling operators without local licences do not carry the same weight as multinational brands with legal teams. The platform’s incentive structure, not its technical capacity, is the limiting factor.
What Happens Next
The common thread across both jurisdictions is a mismatch between platform reach and regulatory grip. Australia’s answer is to lower the legal threshold for enforcement. The new bill would let ACMA act without proving a majority-Australian user base. It would force infrastructure providers to block illegal operators. It would cut off payment flows. Those are hard powers, not polite requests. The Netherlands is testing whether the EU’s Digital Services Act already provides enough leverage. A court ruling declaring Meta directly liable, backed by daily penalties, would set a template for other EU member states. Both cases will be watched by regulators in Asia weighing whether voluntary takedown requests are ever going to be enough. The Philippines, through PAGCOR, has already tightened advertising rules for licensed operators. The question is whether platforms face equivalent pressure to filter illegal content. For Australian players, the immediate risk is unchanged. Fake casinos and rigged apps remain one click away on the country’s most-used social platforms. The Senate inquiry due August 17 will shape whether that changes in 2027. For now, the ads keep running.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the Sydney Morning Herald investigation find about Meta gambling ads?
The August 14 investigation found Facebook and Instagram running ads for offshore online casinos, poker machine apps, and fake sites impersonating Crown Melbourne and Star. Affiliate marketers place many ads, earning up to 20% of referred losses. Some direct users to “scambling” sites where winnings cannot be withdrawn.
Why can’t ACMA force Meta to remove illegal gambling ads in Australia?
Under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, ACMA must prove the majority of a site’s users are in Australia before making a breach finding. That threshold is nearly impossible to meet for globally hosted platforms. ACMA can only request voluntary removal, with no power to compel or penalise Meta for non-compliance.
What would the new Australian gambling reform bill change?
The Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2026 would give ACMA power to issue removal notices for illegal gambling ads on online services. It would require ISPs, DNS providers, app stores and search engines to block illegal operators, and would force banks and payment providers to block fund transfers. Most provisions start January 1, 2027.
What is VNLOK suing Meta for in the Netherlands?
Dutch licensed-operator body VNLOK alleges Meta failed to stop illegal gambling ads reaching Dutch users. It says 70,000+ gambling ads ran in Q4 2025, with 95% from unlicensed operators. VNLOK wants a court to declare Meta in breach of the EU Digital Services Act, hold it directly liable, and impose daily penalty payments for non-compliance.
How do critics respond to Meta’s defence?
Critics say Meta already filters comparable ads in Ireland and Indonesia, proving the technical capability exists. Monash University’s Charles Livingstone notes Meta responds rapidly to copyright complaints from large brands. The argument is that Meta’s incentive structure, not its technology, determines which illegal content gets removed.
When will Australia’s new gambling ad powers take effect?
Most provisions of the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2026 are scheduled to commence on January 1, 2027. The bill was introduced on July 2, 2026, and referred to a Senate inquiry due to report on August 17, 2026. The inquiry’s recommendations will shape the final legislation before parliament votes.
This article has been thoroughly researched and reviewed by the CasinoBait editorial team to ensure accuracy and relevance for Asian casino players.
