Meta Partners With Paf to Identify Unlicensed Online Gambling Ads

Paf has reached an agreement with Meta to help identify unlicensed gambling operators advertising online, starting with a pilot project in Switzerland. The gambling company confirmed the partnership on October 5, 2026.

Good to Know

• Paf will share gambling licence information and website URLs with Meta.
• The project could eventually cover other regulated gambling markets.
• Meta also faces a Dutch lawsuit over unlicensed gambling ads on Facebook and Instagram.

Dutch Gambling Lawsuit Adds Context to Meta Partnership

The agreement comes shortly after Dutch gambling association VNLOK took Meta to court in Amsterdam on September 28.

VNLOK claims more than 90% of the Facebook gambling advertisements it examined promoted unlicensed operators. According to the association, Meta removed just 11% of flagged ads in May and 15% in June.

While VNLOK seeks stronger enforcement under the EU Digital Services Act, Paf has chosen direct cooperation.

The Åland Islands gaming company will supply Meta with licence documents and URLs covering gambling operators and affiliates. The aim is to help identify advertisers that lack permission to target specific markets.

Paf selected Switzerland partly because it already works with Grand Casino Luzern as the technology partner for mycasino.ch, which generates more than €100 million in annual revenue.

Jesper Eliasson, Chief Business Development Officer at Paf, explained the initiative during SBC Summit in Lisbon on September 30.

“I don’t want to share the market with anyone who has no license, has not paid for the license or the compliance work, and who also has no responsible gaming measures in place.”

However, Paf believes cooperation with advertising platforms alone will not stop unlicensed gambling.

The company also wants regulators to issue cease-and-desist orders, cooperate internationally and gain the ability to freeze assets belonging to operators deliberately targeting regulated markets.

Eliasson warned that overly restrictive gambling products could drive players toward unlicensed websites instead.

Paf has not announced a completion date for the Swiss pilot or explained how Meta will use the shared information. Both companies intend to continue cooperating even if the initial project does not produce the expected results.

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