Meta Overlooks Illegal Online Gambling Ads, Says UK Watchdog (1)

Meta Platforms Inc. is turning a blind eye to illegal gambling sites that advertise on Facebook and Instagram, according to the UK’s Gambling Commission.

The regulator has been checking Meta’s searchable ad library for operators that don’t have a license but are targeting people in the UK, according to a speech by executive director Tim Miller, delivered at the ICE gaming conference in Barcelona on Monday.

“It’s effectively a window into criminality,” Miller said, according to a transcript of his speech. “If we can find them then so can Meta: they simply choose not to look.”

Meta has ...