Gambling advertisements have been repeatedly rejected by the Facebook platform. Is the content not attractive enough, or does it touch some hidden rules? Even advertisers who cooperate with multiple gambling companies may not be clear about the "tricks" involved!
Today, through this article, I will discuss with you the reasons for the failure of placing gambling advertisements on Facebook, the conditions for placement, the process of appeal, and precautions.
1. Why do most gambling ads on FB fail?
2. What are the conditions for placing gambling ads on FB?
Why do most gambling ads on FB fail?
Gambling ads can be divided into Social Casino and Real Money Gaming. However, many clients report that these ads generally do not perform well, and there are many reasons behind this, each of which can affect the click-through rate and conversion rate of the ads.
Currently, these advertisers mainly face two challenges:
1. Legal compliance and approval challenges
When the gambling industry wants to place ads on Facebook, they first need to ensure that they comply with all laws and regulations and Facebook's policies. Due to the special nature of the industry, the relevant laws and regulations are often very strict, so compliance is very important.
To ensure the smooth progress of advertising activities, gambling companies need to deeply understand and comply with Facebook's advertising policies, as well as all relevant licenses and legal provisions in the country/region where the ads are placed. Only in this way can they obtain Facebook's advertising approval and then display their ads on the Facebook platform.
Recently, Facebook has relaxed its attitude towards gambling ads, allowing ads to be placed in regions where gambling activities are legal. However, this does not mean that gambling companies can be careless. On the contrary, they should pay more attention to changes in laws and regulations to ensure that their advertising activities always remain on a compliant track.
2. Challenges of ad content updates and optimization
The gambling industry is dynamic, and ad content needs to be frequently updated to maintain freshness. Once there are new betting offers or rule changes, gambling companies must quickly adjust their ads to ensure timely and accurate information. Although this frequent updating increases the diversity of ads, it also places higher demands on production efficiency and quality.
On the other hand, manually placing paid social ads is a heavy task. For example, new ad creatives need to be published every hour, which not only requires innovative content that is close to the audience but may also cause ads to miss the best display time, affecting click-through rates and conversion rates. In addition, this high-intensity placement can also interfere with Facebook's ad learning process, hindering optimization of results.
Therefore, to address these challenges, gambling companies must find innovative solutions to ensure that their ad content is legal and compliant, and to achieve rapid updates and optimization, thereby enhancing ad effectiveness. This is actually the fundamental reason why many ads do not perform well on the Facebook platform.
What are the conditions for placing gambling ads on FB?
If you plan to place gambling ads on Facebook, you need to follow some requirements to ensure that your advertising campaign complies with legal requirements and platform policies.
1. Social Casino - Social gambling game ads
These games are a type of online game that simulates a "gaming venue," where players win "coins" and other virtual rewards in the game that have no real value and cannot be exchanged for cash or prizes.
Placement requirements
No license required: Since it does not involve winning cash or valuable items, no application for Meta's written permission is required.
Age restriction: Ads can only be targeted at users over 18 years old.
Disclaimer
In the ad copy and landing page, it must be clearly informed to the players:
Game purpose: The game is for entertainment only, winning does not represent winning in gambling or related games.
In-app purchases: The game contains in-app purchase items (if applicable).
Example:
Ad copy: Jasper's Slots Bonanza includes in-app purchases. Winning in the game does not represent winning in real money gambling and related games.
Landing page statement: This product is only for users over 18 years old and is for entertainment only. The game contains in-app purchase items. Winning in social gambling games does not represent winning in real money gambling.
2. Real Money Gaming - Online gambling ads
These ads involve activities where players provide items of monetary value (such as cash, Bitcoin, etc.) to participate and can win monetary rewards, including sports betting, lotteries, raffles, poker games, etc. This can generally be divided into two types, one is skill games, and the other is probability games.
Skill games: Such as guessing games, chess, billiards, rummy, card fantasy sports games, and esports competitions, if their gambling activities are permitted or legally certified by regulatory authorities in the target region, they can apply for promotion on the Meta platform.
Probability games: Like roulette, slot machines, scratch cards, promotional lotteries, and raffles, these mainly rely on luck and do not require skills. However, only some government-permitted probability games can apply for promotion on the Meta platform.
Placement restrictions:
Written permission: Advertisers must obtain Meta's written permission (whitelisting before approval is a violation).
Legality proof: Evidence must be provided to prove that the promoted gambling activity has been permitted by regulatory authorities, or is a legal activity in the placement region.
Age restriction: Only targeted at users over 18 years old.
In addition, the following content is not considered online gambling activities and does not require Meta's permission:
Offline real money gambling promotion: Live broadcasts of offline poker tournaments, but ads or landing pages must not promote online gambling.
Promotional lotteries: Promotional lotteries where goods are purchased at the usual retail price, provided that online gambling is not the main business model of the advertiser or brand.
Government lotteries: Advertisers directly or specifically responsible for placing lotteries.
Completely free games: Games that do not involve monetary value.
Q&A Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do free games count as RMG?
A: It depends on whether there is value exchange involved; for example, some match-3 online earning games belong to RMG.
Q: Is it a violation to place ads in Brazil if the account has a whitelist?
A: It is necessary to first confirm whether the country or region approved by the account whitelist is Brazil; the whitelist only applies to the products and regions submitted at the time of application. Otherwise, it will be considered a violation. If other clients have local approval documents, please synchronize with Wezo media for pre-review as soon as possible to assist you in completing the application faster.
Q: Do winning gifts in games count as RMG or SCG?
A: Gifts, virtual currency, etc., are considered to have monetary value, so they belong to RMG.
Q: Do products like lotteries and online earning without obvious game play count as RMG?
A: All forms of online gambling belong to RMG and must comply with relevant regulations. Common product types include betting, lotteries, raffles, fantasy sports, bingo games, poker games, skill-based game competitions, and raffles, etc.
Q: Why are Teenpatti games not allowed?
A: Teenpatti games are usually classified as luck-based games in some regions, therefore not permitted by the government.
Q: Can a game that already has a whitelist still be judged as a violation?
A: It is necessary to ensure that the age, region, and account used meet the RMG requirements and are consistent with the content submitted to the whitelist. If completely compliant but still judged as a violation, you can first appeal through CC. If the CC appeal is unsuccessful, then contact Meta's direct client or agency team.
