"Between 2021 and 2024, India saw a surge of popularity in online gambling, as increasingly cheap mobile data and expanded access to smartphones fueled use of the games. Driven by concerns around illegal operations, Indian authorities summoned Meta and Google last summer to discuss their role in promoting gambling sites. In August, the Indian government banned all forms of real-money online gambling and its promotion, joining many countries across South and Southeast Asia as well as the Middle East."
"In December alone, Rest of World found at least 140 banned ads running in India. The analysis also indicates Meta was running gambling ads in 12 additional countries, where they're prohibited by law. Data from Meta's ad library, analyzed by Rest of World in December, showed dozens of pages running nearly 1,000 such ads across Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and other nations where local laws prohibit such promotion."
Cheap mobile data and wider smartphone access drove a surge in online gambling popularity in India between 2021 and 2024. India banned real-money online gambling and its promotion in August. Investigative findings identified at least 140 banned gambling ads running on Meta platforms in India in December and indicated Meta ran gambling ads in 12 additional countries where such promotion is illegal. Meta's ad library data showed dozens of pages running nearly 1,000 active ads across several prohibited markets, with over 2,400 inactive ads linked to pages that still operate. Meta outlined bans in 18 unsupported markets, yet ads persisted in at least 13 of them. Ads directed users to sites or apps that let users link bank accounts to gamble and used promises of secure transactions, instant withdrawals, referral bonuses, and cashback offers to recruit users.
Read at Rest of World
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