Internal materials reviewed by Reuters indicate Meta estimated up to roughly 10% of its annual revenue could come from advertising tied to scams and banned products. The company disputes the figure and says it has stepped up enforcement. Meanwhile, a wave of legal and regulatory actions, from California to Brazil, Malaysia, India and Romania, shows governments are increasingly unwilling to accept slow removals when illegal gambling and fraud flourish on social platforms.

Documents point to scale

Meta’s own internal assessments, described in a Reuters investigation, sketched a preoccupying picture: company documents from 2021–2025 estimated that “higher-risk” scam ads reached users at a massive scale, on the order of 15 billion such ad impressions a day, and at one point projected that about 10% of Meta’s annual revenue (roughly $16 billion) was tied to advertising for scams and other prohibited goods, according to Reuters. A separate late-2024 document cited about $7 billion in annualised revenue from this category. Meta later told Reuters it had determined the true number was lower and said those assessments were meant to validate integrity investments rather than green-light abuse.

Reuters also reported that internal slide decks discussed trade-offs: cutting scam ads would depress near-term sales, while failing to do so risked regulatory fines the company internally described as “certain” and potentially totalling up to $1 billion, far less than revenue thought to be linked to high-risk ads. The company has since pushed back, saying it “aggressively” fights fraud and reduced user reports of scam ads by 58% over the past 18 months, removing more than 134 million pieces of scam content in 2025 to date.

Courts and regulators are closing in

The documents surface as pressure intensifies in multiple jurisdictions, much of it centred on gambling and “social casino” promotions that, critics say, blur the line between gaming and unregulated betting.

In the United States, a California federal judge recently allowed consolidated suits to proceed against Apple, Google and Meta over casino-style apps. In a 37-page ruling on 30 September, Judge Edward Davila rejected the core Section 230 defence for claims focused on distribution, promotion and payment processing, concluding the platforms were not acting merely as “publishers” when they processed payments and facilitated marketing for the apps.

Latin America is also tightening the screws. In July, Brazil’s Attorney General’s Office gave Meta 48 hours to remove ads from unauthorised betting operators, citing a national framework that restricts fixed-odds betting to licensed firms with “.bet.br” domains. The order followed a landmark Supreme Court ruling that made platforms liable for illegal paid content unless they prove swift removal.

Across Asia, Malaysia’s government has accused Meta of failing to promptly remove unlawful content, highlighting that out of 168,774 takedown requests to Facebook as of 19 September, roughly 120,000 concerned illegal gambling, and thousands of flagged posts still remained. Officials say the slow response leaves users exposed to scams and fuels losses that police put at more than RM 248 million since 2023. New rules now demand social platforms hold an Application Service Provider licence and comply with a code of conduct as part of a wider “Safe Internet” campaign.

India’s Enforcement Directorate has meanwhile summoned Google and Meta as part of a probe into illegal betting networks, money laundering and unlicensed IPL streaming. Investigators allege premium ad slots and social promotion helped betting apps scale quickly, with the agency tracing flows through shell companies and hawala channels and freezing assets worth hundreds of crores.

In Europe, Romania’s gambling regulator ONJN served formal notices to Meta and Google after spotting paid ads for blacklisted operators on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Google Search. The regulator warned of fines and revenue confiscation and pressed the platforms for account-level information and stronger monitoring.

Governments now frame platform responsibility not just as content moderation but as participation in a commercial funnel. The California suits say Apple, Google and Meta were more than neutral hosts, pointing to app store featuring, ad targeting to “whales,” and the handling of in-app chip payments. Brazil’s order defines illegality at the domain and licence level, making compliance verifiable. Malaysia’s stance measures effectiveness by outcomes: how many flagged posts remain online and for how long.

Meta, for its part, told Reuters it is investing heavily in safety, that it doesn’t want scam content, and that policy changes have already cut user-reported scams.

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