Illegal gambling continues to flourish on social media
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6 Dec 2024 •
Reading time: 2 minutes Vincent van ‘t Riet, strategic advisor and marketing manager at ZEturf, has once again raised the alarm about the growing problem of illegal gambling on social media. Van ‘t Riet is known for his efforts to tackle illegal casinos and gambling.
In a post on LinkedIn, he expressed his concerns about platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, which he believes still provide space for illegal gambling practices, including match-fixing.
“It’s getting crazier. In addition to the countless illegal gambling sites on my Instagram timeline, I now also see advertisements from match-fixers.”
Vincent van ‘t Riet
He emphasizes that these advertisements are often presented in a clever way, which means they go unnoticed by the regulatory authorities.
Telegram and Meta criticized for failing to control
Van ‘t Riet not only directed his criticism at Instagram and Facebook, but also at the popular communication channel Telegram. He indicated that Telegram groups with thousands of followers seem to be actively involved in promoting illegal gambling practices.
“Judging by the number of followers, this is a popular Telegram group. And it looks like his friend Jack is having a great time.”
His criticism is mainly aimed at Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. Van ‘t Riet finds it incomprehensible that a technology giant like Meta allows such advertisements.
“It is incomprehensible that Meta continues to allow these types of advertisements. It seems that no one is able to talk some sense into Meta.”
Call for action against illegal gambling practices
Van ‘t Riet advocates stricter control and enforcement to combat these illegal practices. According to him, it is important that social media platforms take responsibility and prevent users from being exposed to harmful content.
He also calls for more awareness among users about the risks of illegal gambling and match-fixing.