Content related to betting, games of chance, or result prediction is always among the groups most strictly controlled by Facebook. The Facebook ads for gambling policy is established to limit risks for users while requiring advertisers and content creators to comply with clear standards regarding legality, age, and transparency. If you do not correctly understand the permitted boundaries, your account is highly susceptible to content removal, distribution restrictions, or even permanent deactivation. In practice, many cases of enforcement do not stem from intentional behavior but from a misunderstanding of the scope of the Facebook gambling policy, especially regarding entertainment, prediction, or indirect linking of content. Therefore, approaching the policy systematically and clearly distinguishing between permitted and prohibited content will help minimize risks and keep accounts safe in the long term.
Permitted gambling content within the controlled scope
Facebook applies a multi-layered and extremely strict management policy for activities related to gambling and online games. According to official regulations from Meta, this content is not absolutely prohibited but is only allowed to exist when simultaneously satisfying two conditions: local legality and written approval from the system moderation team. This control acts as a safety filter, helping to categorize licensed entertainment businesses and anonymous fraudulent organizations.
Legal gambling advertisements with verification and pre-approval
This is the content segment with the highest barriers to entry on the platform, requiring organizing entities to undergo rigorous identity and legal capacity verification processes. According to Meta’s policy, any advertiser wishing to promote forms of online real-money betting, skill game websites with an entry fee, or online lottery activities must submit a pre-approval request.
This process does not stop at checking business licenses but also considers the advertiser’s ability to restrict the audience. Demographic control: Advertisements must target audiences aged 18 and older (or higher, depending on local legal regulations, for example, 21 in some US states).
Example of operational parameters: An online casino business in the United Kingdom, after being approved by Meta, typically maintains a CPM cost (per 1,000 impressions) ranging from $15.00 to $35.00.
This is a higher price than the market average due to the competitive and risky nature of the industry. If the system records even 0.05% of impressions shown to the wrong audience or the wrong committed territories, that entire ad account will be blacklisted immediately to protect community standards.
Neutral information, news, and analytical content
Facebook permits the existence of educational content, news updates, or technical analysis regarding the betting and games of chance market, on the condition that they must not contain direct calls to bet, leading to deposit behavior.
This content group plays the role of providing knowledge and reference information for the community, rather than acting as an intermediary agent for bookmakers. The key point for maintaining this content lies in objectivity and transparency in information:
- Technical analysis: Articles providing head-to-head statistics, player form analysis, or theoretical poker strategy guides are often evaluated as valid by Facebook’s AI system.
- Link warning: A sports news page can achieve organic reach of up to hundreds of thousands of views per month if it limits itself to news reporting. However, if the post attaches “strange links” or shortened links leading to betting account registration pages, the removal rate by the algorithm is nearly 100%. Reality shows that compliant news pages often have stable engagement rates with extremely low cost per engagement (CPE), only about $0.005 – $0.01, because the content provides genuine knowledge value for users.
Games with random elements but no rewards
This content group includes game applications of a “casino simulator” nature. Here, users participate in classic games such as Poker, Blackjack, or Slot Machines, but have absolutely no ability to convert points, virtual currency, or in-game items into cash or prizes with real-world value.
Meta classifies this as normal entertainment content and applies more relaxed policies compared to real-money gambling. However, the boundary between entertainment and violation in this group is very thin and is monitored based on specific parameters:
- In-game currency mechanism: Absolutely no form of “withdrawal” or exchange of items between players for real value is permitted. All in-app purchase transactions only serve the purpose of buying additional turns or decorating personal profiles.
- Ad performance: Developers of this type of entertainment card game usually target a broader customer segment, with the cost per install (CPI) fluctuating on average from $1.20 to $2.50 in developed markets. To maintain this price and not be flagged for violation, advertisers must ensure that the density of terms related to “getting rich,” “life-changing big wins,” or images depicting physical cash must be limited to a minimum level of 0%. The presence of stimuli for real-money gambling behavior will cause the AI system to switch the content status from “Entertainment Game” to “Illegal Gambling” within just a few minutes after publishing.
Gambling content is absolutely prohibited by Facebook
Facebook establishes a system of technical barriers and strict policies to eliminate uncontrolled gambling activities, considering them factors that jeopardize the financial security of users. According to regulations at the Meta Business Help Center, any content showing signs of promoting the wagering of assets of value on uncertain outcomes without prior approval from the system is considered a serious violation. Violations lead not only to the removal of the post but also cause legal consequences for the account, including the permanent blocking of advertising rights and platform access. To ensure safety, users and businesses need to clearly identify the strictly prohibited forms of content below.
Promoting illegal or unlicensed betting
This is the largest “red line” in Facebook’s policy. The platform strictly prohibits all individuals or organizations from promoting real-money online gambling activities without providing a valid business license in their targeted geographic regions.
Meta requires advertisers to undergo a formal written approval process before launching any campaign.
- Signs of violation: Ad posts for “underground” online casinos, reward-based game portals using scratch cards or cryptocurrency for deposits and withdrawals without legal protection.
- Specific consequences: According to statistics from Meta’s scans, the deactivation rate for accounts running unlicensed gambling ads is 100%. Even when using circumvention techniques (cloaking), Meta’s AI system can still detect landing page fractures and execute account locks in less than 24 hours after the ad is initially approved.
Calls to participate, tutorials, or providing betting links
Facebook prohibits not only the organization of gambling but also the facilitation of it through content. Articles featuring gameplay tutorials, sharing “prediction tips,” or urging users to register accounts at bookmakers are categorized as harmful content.
Specifically, directly attaching links to betting websites is the behavior subject to the most aggressive automated scanning and enforcement. Many entities use shortened links or QR codes to hide the destination. However, Meta’s algorithm can “trace” back to the final landing page to inspect the content.
Metric example: Posts containing links leading to bookmakers typically see their organic reach drop to nearly 0% immediately. If a user persists in this behavior, their personal profile’s reputation score will be lowered to the minimum, resulting in all subsequent posts being restricted from appearing to friends.
Content targeting underage users
Protecting minors is a top priority in Meta’s policy. Any gambling content, whether legal or simulated, found targeting users under 18 (or under 21 in specific jurisdictions) is considered a platform ethics violation and is removed unconditionally.
Meta utilizes highly granular audience filtering technology. Legal gambling ad campaigns must set minimum age limits during the campaign configuration stage. If an advertiser is found using Custom Audiences containing data of underage users, the penalty extends beyond account locking; Meta may also provide information to regulatory bodies regarding violations of online child protection laws. In practice, just one substantiated report of a minor accessing betting content will trigger priority manual moderation for the entire Fanpage.
Intermediaries and indirect leads to gambling platforms
This is a “gray area” form that Facebook has updated its policies to prohibit strictly. These are posts that do not mention the keyword “gambling” but lead users through intermediary groups like Telegram, Zalo, or satellite websites before providing betting links.
Content such as “capital pull support” or “daily salary investment” is effectively a trap leading to online casinos. Facebook’s AI is capable of Natural Language Processing (NLP) to identify slang terms like “getting on the boat,” “reaching the shore,” or “returning to the color”.
Community groups exhibiting this behavior are often subject to “wide-area scans” by Facebook. Once a group is dissolved, all associated administrators are placed on a community feature restriction list for at least 30 to 90 days.
Intentionally building intermediary pages to redirect users is viewed by Meta as systematic fraud, leading to the permanent blocking of that domain across the entire Meta ecosystem, including Instagram and WhatsApp.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but under extremely strict conditions: The content must be purely informational/analytical and absolutely must not attach links to bookmakers or intermediary groups. If a post includes a “See More” button leading to a website containing a bookmaker’s agent code, Meta will categorize it as unauthorized betting brokerage and remove the content immediately.
Absolutely not. Cloaking is categorized as “Circumventing Systems”—one of Meta’s most severe offenses. Facebook’s system not only scans at the time of ad approval but also performs random scans and manual moderation throughout the distribution process. When detected, not only the ad account but also the Business Manager, Fanpage, and domain will be blacklisted beyond recovery.
