Paf has reached an agreement with Meta to test a new system for identifying unlicensed gambling operators and affiliates advertising through the platform.
The pilot will begin in Switzerland, where Paf plans to share licence documents and website URLs with Meta. The information is intended to help the platform distinguish authorised gambling businesses from advertisers targeting the market without the necessary approval.
Jesper Eliasson, Chief Business Development Officer at Paf, presented the initiative during the SBC Summit in Lisbon. He said Switzerland will serve as the first test market before the companies consider whether the approach could work elsewhere.
“The licence can come from somewhere entirely different, and in that tangle of jurisdictions it is hard to spot. That is why we are focusing on Switzerland, to see whether we can build a model that can then be scaled up.”
Pilot Focuses on Licensing and Advertiser Checks
The arrangement covers data relating to both operators and affiliates.
Paf will provide Meta with reference material that can help it assess who holds permission to advertise gambling products in Switzerland. Work on the pilot is expected to begin shortly.
Eliasson said unlicensed operators often find ways around social media controls, while Europe’s different licensing systems can make verification more difficult.
Paf wants the Swiss project to establish whether direct data sharing can improve how Meta identifies gambling advertisers. If the experiment proves effective, the company hopes the model could be adapted to other markets.
Eliasson also said cooperation with social media platforms needs support from gambling regulators and other authorities.
“We can share data and have good conversations with the platforms, but that does not take us all the way. The authorities need to use their tools, cease and desist letters, cooperation across borders and the possibility of freezing assets,” said Eliasson.
He pointed to cross-border regulatory cooperation and enforcement against assets held by businesses targeting regulated markets without licences.
Eliasson also argued that increasingly restrictive product rules can create additional difficulties if players move toward unregulated websites.
The subject formed part of wider discussions in Lisbon about black-market gambling and online advertising.
Other Industry Groups Increase Pressure on Meta
Other gambling organizations have taken different approaches in their dealings with Meta.
VNLOK Chair Bjorn Fuchs said his organization spent five years seeking action from the company before turning to legal proceedings.
“One could say that dialogue and cooperation are effective in the long term, but after five years we don’t see any improvement and the advertisements are getting worse,” said Fuchs speaking at SBC Summit in Lisbon, as reported by SBC News. “That’s why we took the step to go to court and ask the Dutch judge to look at the matter.”
Fuchs also challenged the Netherlands Gambling Authority’s published 90% channelisation rate, calling it a ‘lullaby that we shouldn’t believe’.
In the UK, Paddy Power Betfair Managing Director Richard Clarke said the company had discussed black-market gambling with former Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross.
“We need to focus on the black market. We spent some time with the Gambling Minister recently, showing some of the work that we’ve done on analysis around the black market and around the actual consumer experience of being a black market customer is horrific.
“I don’t think people actually always can see what that looks like. So educating in that space is really important, but I think we really need to start taking action.”
The Paf-Meta project takes a more direct operational approach by supplying licensing information that can be used when assessing gambling advertisers.