Facebook recently updated its sports betting advertising policy, noting that potential advertisers must request written permission to advertise on the platform.
These requests must be submitted to Meta Platforms, Facebook’s parent company. As defined by Meta, these queries refer to «common types of gambling such as betting», lotteries, sweepstakes, casino games, fantasy sports, bingo, poker, sweepstakes, etc.
Meta’s California office said: «To run ads that promote online gambling and gaming, advertisers will need to request written permission from Meta using this form and provide evidence that the gambling activities are appropriately licensed by a regulator or otherwise established as lawful in territories they want to target. Additionally, Meta doesn’t allow targeting for online gambling and gaming ads to people under the age of 18.»
Facebook has had several conflicts with gaming companies in the past. For example, in 2019 the company cracked down on European gambling companies that allegedly stored large amounts of customer data to attract potential young players.
Social casino game developers are contributing to increasing app store revenues, and gaming companies can and do increase online advertising revenue for technology companies.
For operators looking to run in-game ads on Facebook, an ounce of prevention can be worth a pound of cure. In a recent blog post, Klein Moynihan Turco partner David Klein said it was important to comply with Facebook’s new restrictions.
He wrote: «In order to feature ads that promote online gambling and gaming, advertisers now need to request prior written permission from Meta to do so. The request must include evidence that the subject gambling and/or gaming activities are duly licensed by regulators or otherwise lawful in the geographic locations or territories that they target. As such, businesses should seek counsel before running any contest promotion to avoid potential social media, regulatory and legal challenges.»
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