Multiple Australian news outlets report that Facebook (Meta) is running advertisements promoting online casinos that operate illegally for Australian audiences. The reports say these ads target Australians on social media platforms and contribute to Meta’s advertising revenue.
The outlets describe a regulatory problem: the gambling regulator is unable to effectively intervene because of a legal or technical “loophole.” As a result, enforcement action against the ads—or against the way they are delivered to Australians—faces significant limits. The articles frame the issue as a broader challenge for online advertising oversight, where responsibility and jurisdiction can be difficult to establish across platforms.
While the reports align on the core allegation and the regulator’s lack of power, they emphasize different implications. Some focus on the scale of the benefit to Meta from gambling-related advertising, while others stress the practical inability of the watchdog to act against the ads as they appear to Australian users.
