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Dutch online gambling trade group VNLOK is calling out Meta over what it says is an overwhelming volume of illegal gambling promotion reaching consumers in the Netherlands through Facebook advertising.
In a statement on Monday, 26 January 2026, VNLOK said its review of Meta’s public Ads Library for October through December 2025 found that more than 95% of the gambling promotion it identified each month came from unlicensed operators.
The group said the scale is hard to square with the Netherlands’ post-regulation pitch to players: use licensed sites, get stronger safeguards. VNLOK argues illegal operators bypass Dutch rules on player duty of care and advertising, while still finding ways to target Dutch audiences on major social platforms.
VNLOK’s numbers: “almost everything” points to illegal sites
VNLOK’s analysis breaks down two types of activity it says it tracked: Facebook pages promoting gambling, and individual ads. In each of the three months, VNLOK reported that 96%–98% of the material it found was linked to illegal providers.
VNLOK also said illegal ads were typically visible for around 1.5 to 2 days, and that in each month a large majority of the illegal ads it identified ran for less than one day before being replaced.
With that churn, a rather high reach was still produced as VNLOK said illegal gambling ads hit a high point of about 50 million impressions in November.
“Startling” and “getting bigger”
VNLOK chair Björn Fuchs described the findings as “schrikbarend” (“startling”), warning that the torrent of offshore marketing doesn’t just pull players away from licensed sites, it also chips away at confidence in the legal market.
He also noted that VNLOK has observed the proliferation of illegal gambling beyond paid advertisements. The group claims illegal brands are increasingly showing up in viral social content, which it says is more likely to reach minors and young adults.
VNLOK’s message to Meta
VNLOK’s message is basically: this can’t be a “report it and we’ll remove it” exercise if the ads refresh faster than enforcement.
In its statement, VNLOK urged Meta to step up proactive detection, tighten advertiser checks, and speed up removals for gambling promotion aimed at Dutch users.
The trade group also called on the Dutch gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), to take tougher action, within existing legal powers, against marketing firms and platforms that help route Dutch consumers to illegal sites.
A wider European headache for Big Tech
The Dutch intervention lands days after the UK Gambling Commission also criticised Meta’s handling of illegal gambling ads, with executive director Tim Miller arguing it’s not credible for a company of Meta’s size to rely on regulators to point out violations it could find using its own tools.
Meta has said it enforces strict policies on gambling ads and removes ads that violate those rules when identified, and that it has been working with the UK regulator to improve proactive detection.
Source: VNLOK.nl
