The Dutch gambling regulator KSA has all the legal tools it needs to fight illegal gambling advertising on Meta platforms but refuses to use them, according to Justin Franssen, partner at Franssen Tolboom Attorneys at Law, speaking at SBC Summit on Wednesday.
'I have absolutely no idea how a regulator that operators pay serious money to keeps complaining about a lack of powers,' Franssen said during a panel on the Dutch market. He pointed out that the Netherlands gambling law first banned unlicensed gambling advertising, then was expanded to prohibit facilitating it as well. 'What Meta does is pure facilitation. Why is the regulator doing nothing?'
Franssen noted that the industry has now taken over enforcement. The Dutch online operators association VNLOK has filed suit against Meta. State lottery Nederlandse Loterij launched civil cases against unlicensed sites Lalabet in March 2025 and Qbet in April 2026, winning the first in June. The lawyer also criticised a draft parliamentary resolution that proposed giving KSA the power to act if Meta ignores removal requests. 'It already has that power. The regulator simply isn't using it.'
VNLOK chairman Björn Fuchs added that the regulator has publicly stated its intention to 'negotiate' with Meta for long-term effect. 'We've seen five years of that — it doesn't work.' The association went to court after attempts at dialogue with Meta yielded only automated replies. VNLOK is asking the Dutch court to force Meta to comply with its obligations under the EU Digital Services Act.
Fuchs cited France and Germany, where civil courts have already held Meta liable for illegal casino advertising. At the same time he warned that AI-generated ads and bots are slipping through oversight. A study this week showed that ten AI assistants, including Meta AI, named unlicensed sites, while Microsoft Copilot included them in a top-50 list of 'legal' casinos. The Amsterdam court has accepted the case; no hearing date has been set.
