Online Gambling and Games

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CHANGE LOG

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Oct 22, 2024

Online Gambling and Games

Meta defines online gambling and games as any product or service where anything of monetary value is included as part of a method of entry and prize. Ads that promote online gambling and gaming are only allowed with our prior written permission. Authorized advertisers must follow all applicable laws and include targeting criteria consistent with Meta’s targeting requirements. At a minimum, ads may not be targeted to people under 18 years of age. Learn more in our Business Help Center.

Overview

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.

Advertisers must follow our Community Standards, in addition to our Advertising Standards.

Please be aware that not all types of online gambling and gaming can be applied in every territory, for detailed Gaming type and license(s) please check our written permission form.

Guidelines

In order to promote the following, written permission is required:

  • All forms of online gambling. Some common types of gambling include betting, lotteries, raffles, casino games, fantasy sports, bingo, poker, skill game tournaments and sweepstakes.
  • Games where anything of monetary value is included as part of a method of entry and anything of monetary value is included as part of the prize, including but not limited to cash or digital currencies like Bitcoin. This includes games that require purchases to continue gameplay or provide an advantage in winning prizes in cases where the prize is of monetary value.
  • Ads with destination (landing) pages that contain promotions for online gambling or games, even if there is no opportunity to gamble or game directly on that page, such as aggregator or affiliate sites.
  • Games offering a limited trial period and requiring payment thereafter

Advertisers who receive permission cannot target ads to people under the age of 18. Permission can be requested in the following countries:

  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Brazil
  • Canada
  • Colombia
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • India
  • Ireland
  • Japan
  • Kenya
  • Mexico
  • Netherlands
  • Nigeria
  • Norway
  • Peru
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Serbia
  • Slovakia
  • South Africa
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Turkey
  • United Kingdom
  • United States

Authorized Advertisers should not promote Gambling and gaming ads where gambling content is locally not permitted, and are responsible for understanding local laws surrounding Gambling and gaming ads in the locations where they operate.

Without permission, advertisers can run ads that promote:

  • Physical, real-money gambling activity or establishments, like “brick and mortar” casinos, entertainment events at casinos or the streaming of offline poker tournaments provided the ad or destination (landing) page does not promote or facilitate online gambling.
  • State or government lotteries, as long as the advertiser is directly or exclusively responsible for running the lottery.
  • Prize promotions that involve purchasing a product at the usual retail price, as long as online gambling isn’t the primary business model of the advertiser or any featured brand.
  • Entirely free-to-play games that do not simulate gambling games or offer any opportunity to win anything with monetary value.

Note: Advertisers will need to comply with all applicable local laws when they run these types of ads. Ads should not depict or target minors.


Social Casino Games, Free to play Games

Ads for social casino games, which are online games that simulate casino gambling (e.g., poker, slots, roulette etc.) where there is no opportunity to win money or money’s worth this includes content that indicates the opportunity to win coins of no monetary value, are allowed only if they are targeted to people 18 years or older. Learn more in our Business Help Center.

Please note, if the game allows virtual prizes to be bought or sold between players within the game and/or on secondary markets for money or money’s worth, please refer to our Online Gambling and Gaming policy above.

Overview

If an advertiser wants to run ads that promote online gambling and gaming where anything of monetary value is required to play and anything of monetary value forms part of the prize, they’ll need to request permission from Meta. These types of ads are subject to Meta’s Online Gaming and Gambling policy.

For more information, visit the Business Help Center.

Guidelines

Advertisers can run ads for social casino games as long as they:

  • Don’t offer the opportunity to win money, coins, gifts, or anything of monetary value
  • Don’t target people under the age of 18

Social casino games include online games that mirror real-life casino games such as poker, slots, roulette, or jackpots but don't offer any financial winnings. For example, advertisers can run ads that offer the opportunity to win “coins” as long as the coins don’t have any monetary value.







Enforcement

We have the same policies around the world, for everyone on Facebook.

Review teams

Our global team of over 15,000 reviewers work every day to keep people on Facebook safe.

Stakeholder engagement

Outside experts, academics, NGOs and policymakers help inform the Facebook Community Standards.