It’s safe to say that Dutch trade body VNLOK’s summoning of big tech social media giant Meta to court rocked the betting industry’s boat last week. The landmark move drew widespread praise from the organisation’s peers.
Meta has been catching a lot of flak from the regulated betting industry, and the government bodies regulating it too for that matter. VNLOK’s action against it marked the first time a gambling trade body has explored legal action against a big tech firm.
At the SBC Summit in Lisbon last week, Björn Fuchs, Chairman of VNLOK, took to the stage to say that “now is the time for Meta to uphold their responsibility.” Post-event, he doubled down to SBC News that Mark Zuckerberg’s conglomerate is “facilitating a digital Wild West”.
“It’s extremely disappointing to see the lack of (pro)activity at Meta. While licensed operators are compliant and thus limited by law, Meta is facilitating a digital Wild West, in which illegal online gambling websites seduce vulnerable Dutch audiences, without any duty of care,” he explained.
“Knowing gamblers on illegal websites have a substantially higher risk profile, eventually Dutch society and even more so, Dutch consumers are paying the price for that digital Wild West.”
Social media ads far from the Netherlands’ only problem
The Netherlands has struggled with improving channelisation rates ever since the launch of its open market in 2021. Recent times have seen the situation worsen, with 2025 statistics putting the rate at 49%.
This is far more severe than it was in 2023 (66%) and 2024 (57%), but not a single one of those percentages are enviable for any jurisdiction with a regulated market – European markets aim for channelisation rates of 90%, for example.
Stringent marketing stipulations, a sizable 37.8% tax on gross gaming revenue (GGR) and well-intentioned but still strict duty of care obligations, will all be likely contributors to Dutch consumers switching their attention to unlicensed offerings.
Fuchs himself has warned that over-regulation of the sector could backfire, and this has been a topic debated heavily in Dutch political venues.
But the proliferation of illegal gambling advertising on Meta’s sites, and on other social media platforms, has become a cause celebre for the regulated industry in the Netherlands.
Licensed operators see this advertising as a major reason as to why the regulated market is struggling so much, with Fuchs even suggesting that some adverts on Meta platforms may be the cause of why many punters in the country have actively sought out black market bookmakers.
“Meta should be able to do much, much better when it comes to filtering illegal gambling ads,” he affirmed.
“I don’t think the Dutch general public is very aware about those differences [between licensed and unlicensed platforms].
“It’s positive to see that the KSA is ramping up more campaigns for their information platform. The most important question is: does the public even care?
“Attractive ads, specifically targeted, with high bonuses, high rtp’s and the promise of a frictionless experience are all very strong persuasive elements. From that perspective, water always tends to go towards the lowest point.
“KVA – the Responsible Affiliates Quality Mark – has done various pieces of research on the number of Google searches for illegal gambling websites, like ‘casino without limits’ or ‘casino without KYC’. On a monthly basis, these numbers surpass the one million mark in The Netherlands, so it seems Dutch consumers are actively looking for it.”
VNLOK first to follow through on repeated warnings
Despite being the first gambling trade body to summon Meta to court, VNLOK is not alone in venting its frustrations over the proliferation of unlicensed gambling operators via well-known social media platforms.
The UK’s Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), for example, pleaded to social media platforms in an open letter in June, asking them to eliminate these adverts on their sites.
Meanwhile, the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) – the umbrella body for European online gambling operators – has called for stricter enforcement across EU member states under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
Despite a myriad of warnings, pleas and calls for action from trade bodies, regulators and licensed operators alike, illegal gambling adverts continue to infest social media across the world.
Can a healthy relationship with Meta be established?
This week has shown signs of some early breakthroughs for the gambling sector, however.
Nordic operator Paf revealed at SBC Summit that it has entered into an agreement with Meta to launch a pilot project, sharing information including licence documents and URLs with the global giant in order to collate more information in the black market fight.
Just this week, Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy (DE) committed to working with social media platforms – including Meta and TikTok – to initiate a clampdown.
Even though these partnerships have been dubbed as experimental and potentially long-winded, Fuchs still thinks there is an easy enough solution.
He explained: “Every license has a certain jurisdiction. If that’s not the case, then every jurisdiction has a list of licensed operators.
“If you’re not on the Dutch list, you shouldn’t be able to target Dutch audiences. It really isn’t rocket science.”
It’s a line commonly used, but one that still rings true – the fight against the illegal market and their marketing schemes are far from over.
It is likely that whatever solution thought up and implemented by regulators, Big Tech, operators or trade bodies will be circumvented by unlicensed operators and the battle will continue for years to come.
But it’s imperative that licensed industries across borders come together to tackle these issues – which all are facing – together.
Fuchs hinted at this when saying that “VNLOK is in touch with other European trade bodies”.
It’s also hardly like this is the first time Meta has been taken to court, though it may be the first time a gambling trade body has done so.
Meta has faced a plethora of legal challenges in recent years, such as a case in Italy regarding compensation paid to publishers.
“There have already been various court cases against Meta in different European countries,” Fuchs added. “At this point in time, we’re actively exchanging information and insights. Future collaboration is possible. The same goes for our contacts with various European government agencies.”