Paf agrees Meta pilot aimed at curbing illegal gambling ads
The Åland Islands operator will share data on unlicensed firms with Meta in a Swiss pilot, as critics including Dutch trade body VNLOK accuse the platform of inaction.
Paf has struck an agreement with Meta to trial a scheme designed to help the technology group identify unlicensed gambling operators and affiliates on its platforms, according to SBC News.
Jesper Eliasson, Paf's Chief Business Development Officer, set out the arrangement at last week's SBC Summit. He said the Nordic operator would pass Meta information going beyond basic licence paperwork and website addresses, giving the company a clearer picture of how illegal operators and their affiliates actually present themselves online.
Paf said the initial work would begin shortly and would focus on Switzerland, with the stated aim of eventually applying the same approach in other markets.
"The goal is to build a model in Switzerland that can then be scaled up to more markets," the company said.
Eliasson framed the project as a matter of fairness towards licensed operators. "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," he said.
He was candid about the uncertainty involved, adding: "I don't know whether we will succeed, but we have taken the first steps. We are having good conversations together, and Meta does not want illegal operators on its platform. So we keep working on it and see how it goes."
Mixed views on Meta
The pilot sits awkwardly alongside a separate dispute between Meta and the Dutch trade body VNLOK, which is pursuing legal action over the volume of illegal gambling advertising it says appears on Meta's platforms. VNLOK has said Meta carried more than 70,000 gambling adverts in the final quarter of 2025, with 95% originating from unlicensed operators, and that fewer than 5% of those were taken down.
VNLOK's chairman, Björn Fuchs, speaking at the same SBC Summit, said Meta needed to "uphold their responsibility". He described repeated attempts by the trade body to raise the issue directly, saying it had "tried to communicate but they have only offered automated responses". Fuchs added that the situation had not improved and was, in his view, deteriorating.
Tim Miller, the Gambling Commission's former Executive Director, has also criticised Meta's record on the issue, recently telling the iGaming Daily podcast that the company has failed to act adequately against illegal advertising.
Against that backdrop, Paf's arrangement with Meta stands out as an attempt to work with the platform rather than against it. The outcome will be of particular interest to operators preparing to enter mainland Finland's newly regulated gambling market, where Paf itself is positioning to compete, and to others watching whether Big Tech firms are finally willing to restrict the unlicensed operators that have long advertised on their platforms.