Netherlands: illegal gambling ads on Meta, VNLOK takes case to Brussels
Illegal gambling advertising on Meta has become a European case. The Dutch association VNLOK, which represents licensed online gambling operators in the Netherlands, has announced legal action against the group that owns Facebook and Instagram and has filed a complaint with the European Commission. At the centre of the dispute is what VNLOK describes as the massive spread of adverts linked to unlicensed operators on the American group’s most widely used social media platforms.
This issue is not confined to the Dutch market. It touches on an increasingly sensitive topic for the entire European iGaming sector: the relationship between digital platforms, online advertising, consumer protection and the responsibilities of technology intermediaries. In an increasingly strictly regulated sector, the ability of illegal operators to reach users through social media campaigns raises questions that cannot be ignored.
VNLOK against Meta: the core of the dispute
According to VNLOK, Meta has not taken sufficient measures to prevent the promotion of gambling sites without a Dutch licence on Facebook and Instagram. The association argues that the current system relies too heavily on reports filed after ads have already been published and is not effective at preventing new campaigns from appearing.
According to legal operators, the problem is structural. Unlicensed advertisers are allegedly able to create multiple accounts, pages, and domains, publishing ads for short periods but with potentially very broad impact. Even when some content is removed, similar ads can quickly reappear online, making reactive moderation ineffective given the speed of the phenomenon.
VNLOK also says it has sought engagement with Meta but, in its view, has not obtained a sufficient commitment to system-wide solutions. The association’s request is therefore not limited to the removal of individual reported adverts but also aims to strengthen tools for advertiser verification, preventive detection, and blocking of illegal campaigns targeting the Dutch market.
Monitoring figures: more than 95 per cent of adverts under scrutiny
The association’s position is based on monitoring carried out through Meta’s advertising library. According to data collected by VNLOK, tens of thousands of gambling-related adverts targeting users in the Netherlands were identified between October and December 2025.
In detail, the association identified 61,717 adverts in October, 84,493 in November, and 67,732 in December. In all three months, more than 95 per cent of the adverts were allegedly attributable to illegal operators. According to VNLOK, exposure peaked in November, with around 50 million impressions.
The removal data makes the picture more critical. Again, according to the association, the share of adverts removed by Meta remained limited: 3 per cent in October, 5.2 per cent in November, and 4.7 per cent in December. In VNLOK’s reading, these figures show the inadequacy of the current control mechanisms.
It is important to note that these are figures produced by the industry association, and therefore by a party directly involved in the dispute. However, the issue of illegal advertising on social media has also been confirmed by the Dutch gambling authority, the Kansspelautoriteit, which said in May that it had sent Meta more than 4,600 reports of illegal ads identified in April alone.
Risk for consumers and the regulated market
Illegal gambling advertising on Meta raises an issue that goes beyond competition between operators. In the Netherlands, online gambling is permitted only for licensed operators. These operators must comply with regulations concerning user identification, the prevention of addiction, gambling limits, intervention obligations and the protection of vulnerable players.
Unlicensed operators, by contrast, operate outside this regulatory framework. They can offer aggressive bonuses, circumvent self-exclusion measures and target users looking for offers without limits or controls. According to the Kansspelautoriteit, some illegal adverts even use the names and logos of well-known sports personalities or major brands to appear more trustworthy to consumers.
For VNLOK, the main risk concerns minors, young adults, and people with problematic gambling behaviour. The association argues that the growth of unlicensed supply is weakening the regulated system’s ability to protect players and keep traffic within supervised operators.
Role of the Digital Services Act
The complaint filed by VNLOK directly cites the Digital Services Act, the European regulation that imposes stricter obligations on major online platforms. Facebook and Instagram are among the large-scale services subject to the DSA’s regulatory framework, which requires measures to combat the spread of illegal content, greater advertising transparency, and the assessment of systemic risks associated with the platforms’ operations.
VNLOK intends to ask the European Commission to assess whether Meta has complied with those obligations. In parallel, the association intends to turn to the Dutch courts to obtain a finding of the company’s liability and the imposition of more effective measures against illegal adverts.
The case, if confirmed in the terms announced, could set a significant precedent for the entire European iGaming sector. The issue is no longer only whether a single advert should be removed, but whether a global platform can be held to account when an illegal phenomenon is repeated on a large scale and in predictable ways.
A challenge that goes beyond Meta
Although its action focuses on Meta, VNLOK recognises that tackling illegal gambling cannot rely solely on social networks. The infrastructure of unlicensed supply involves search engines, payment networks, affiliate networks, technology providers, and content suppliers.
This is where the matter takes on broader significance. The illegal market is growing not only because unlicensed operators exist but also because they can still use digital channels, advertising tools, and payment systems to reach European consumers. For regulators, the challenge will be to build a coordinated approach capable of intervening along the entire supply chain.
For Meta, this issue forms part of a European context already characterised by increasing scrutiny of the responsibilities of major platforms. For regulated iGaming, however, it represents a decisive test: without effective control of digital advertising, consumer protection risks remaining strong on paper but fragile at the most exposed point, where the user encounters the illegal offer.
This article was originally published on the Italian SiGMA News page on 22 June 2026.
Stay ahead with the stories driving global iGaming. Select SiGMA World as your source preference for exclusive voices, betting trends, prediction markets and key regulatory updates.
