Meta fails to remove illegal crypto gambling promotions despite warnings from Australian regulator

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The Backstory

How Australia’s enforcement gap set the stage

Australia’s regulators have spent years trying to shut out offshore gambling, but the market keeps finding ways in. The Australian Communications and Media Authority has used internet blocks and public warnings to curb illegal operators, ordering internet service providers to restrict hundreds of sites since 2019. In its latest wave, the regulator moved to block four platforms — Megabet Prize, TF2Royal, Casino Intense and Mega Medusa — after finding violations of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. The agency described the actions as part of an enforcement campaign that began in 2017 and has pushed more than 1,200 sites offline or out of the market. Still, an industry report cited by the regulator estimated the illegal overseas market at about AU$1.1 billion in 2023, or roughly 15% of national wagering activity. That backdrop helps explain why the regulator keeps urging consumers to verify licenses and warning that illegal sites lack basic customer protections. The latest blocking orders, and the scale of the grey market, underscore why authorities have targeted not only operators but also the channels that amplify them, including social media and influencers. Read more about the recent blocking orders in the ACMA crackdown described here: Australian gambling regulator blocks four illegal gambling sites.

Major events become marketing magnets for illicit sites

The Australian Open provided a clear case study of how offshore platforms capitalize on national moments. Unlicensed operators used tournament logos, player imagery and exclusive giveaways to drive engagement with Australian users, blurring lines between official sponsorships and unregulated promotions. One site offered front-row tickets and garnered thousands of interactions, drawing in local Instagram users even without any affiliation to the event. Responsible Wagering Australia, which represents licensed bookmakers, warned that these tactics can mislead bettors into believing illegal sites are sanctioned and safe. The ACMA confirmed at least one such platform was illegal and said it would order ISPs to block access, adding that more operators and influencer promotions tied to these campaigns are under investigation. The pattern is familiar: a marquee event inflates attention, offshore operators swoop in with themed ads and giveaways, and enforcement attempts to catch up. For details on the Open-themed promotions and the regulatory response, see Illegal gambling sites using Australian Open in recent promotions.

Social platforms as the choke point — and vulnerability

While site blocking disrupts access, the advertising and discovery layer often runs through social media. That is where platform policy meets national law, and where gaps show. Across Southeast Asia, promoters have masked betting ads as innocuous content to pass automated review and target broad audiences. In Indonesia, a comprehensive ban on online betting and advertising has pushed a sprawling underground industry to rely on disguised ads across Facebook, Instagram and Threads, according to an investigation by AFP. Authorities say they removed millions of gambling-related posts and arrested dozens of influencers, but deceptive campaigns persist, sometimes routing users through content that looks like wellness or gaming tips before redirecting to betting sites. A forthcoming survey cited in the reporting suggests the ads are pervasive and effective, with wide exposure and measurable conversion. The tactics illustrate how enforcement and platform moderation can be outmaneuvered by seemingly benign creative, especially when age gates and category reporting tools fall short. Explore the Indonesian findings here: Igaming ads continue to target Indonesian Meta users despite ban.

India’s probe widens liability beyond operators

India’s Enforcement Directorate has escalated scrutiny of the digital plumbing that enables illegal betting by summoning executives from major tech companies. The money laundering investigation centers on banned platforms that rebrand and resurface with help from celebrity endorsements and paid digital promotions. Regulators have repeatedly warned media and advertising channels to cut off distribution for illegal operators, but ads continue to appear across formats. The new summons seeks documents and statements under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, signaling that authorities are tracing not only the flow of funds but also the marketing ecosystems that sustain the market. The scale of India’s real-money online gaming sector, projected in industry analyses to grow to several billion dollars in the coming years, raises the stakes for compliance decisions by platforms and promoters. The ED’s actions suggest that facilitating discovery — through paid inventory, influencer deals or algorithmic amplification — could draw regulatory attention even when operators are based offshore. For more on the investigation, see Indian authorities issue new summons to Google and Meta over illegal igaming.

Public health and consumer risk sharpen the policy push

Regulators are also reframing the debate as a consumer protection and public health issue, not just an enforcement challenge. In the Philippines, the Department of Finance urged lawmakers to require graphic health warnings, stricter age checks and betting limits to mitigate addiction, and to fund rehabilitation programs. The agency’s cost-benefit analysis weighed tax receipts, franchise fees and jobs against household debt, reduced consumption and treatment costs. It concluded the social toll can outweigh economic gains, and it backed tighter rules up to a potential ban. The Department of Economy, Planning, and Development supported the position, saying online gambling contributes a sliver of GDP while imposing broader social costs. The regulator PAGCOR, for its part, has moved to bolster data protection with the national privacy authority, signaling that consumer safeguards are becoming core to market oversight. The policy direction in Manila mirrors rising regional emphasis on health and safety in digital gambling, which in turn influences how platforms and advertisers assess risk. Learn more about the proposals and their rationale: Philippines Department of Finance calls for gambling health warnings.

The stakes for platforms, influencers and regulators

Taken together, these developments map a feedback loop. Offshore operators target moments of maximum attention with aggressive social promotions. Influencers and ad tools amplify the reach, often outpacing moderation. National regulators respond with site blocks, warnings and, increasingly, probes that touch distribution channels and endorsers. The persistence of illegal operators despite hundreds of blocks, and the reported ability of users to bypass geoblocks with VPNs, show that content discovery — not just access — is a critical battleground. Australia’s experience with event-linked promotions, Indonesia’s disguised ad surge and India’s enforcement push all converge on a common pressure point: whether large platforms and high-visibility promoters will tighten controls and treat illegal gambling content as a compliance priority, not a content-policy edge case.

The policy implications run beyond content takedowns. If regulators conclude that social distribution materially enables illegal betting, they could pursue steeper penalties, require payment and ad-blocking measures, or impose stricter age and identity controls at the platform level. Health-first frameworks, like those advancing in the Philippines, could add warning labels, exclusion tools and frequency caps to the compliance stack. For now, regulators continue to balance consumer protection with market realities, but the trend line is clear: the cost of inaction is rising across legal, reputational and public health dimensions. For broader enforcement context in Australia, see the ACMA’s ongoing actions summarized here: Australian gambling regulator blocks four illegal gambling sites, and for how major events can be leveraged by offshore marketers, revisit the Australian Open case detailed in this report on illicit tournament promotions.