The Minister of Communications of Malaysia, Fami Fazl, confirmed that the local government would meet with the Meta executive on 22 September to focus on the growing problem of illegal online advertising for lottery on Facebook. The talks will focus on the challenges posed by the content of the regulated lottery and the platform ‘ s failure to organize the payment of such advertisements through credit card transactions.
In a press conference, Famy Fazl stated that most of the content on Facebook in Malaysia related to gambling. He criticized Meta for allowing the monetization of prohibited content through advertising services: “If gambling advertising uses a credit card to pay and Facebook knows that the content is illegal in Malaysia, it should block its accounts, but Facebook refuses to do so.”
He stressed the Government’s current preference for dialogue rather than punitive measures: “We do not intend to ban or close Facebook, many of whom benefit socially and economically from these platforms, but cannot allow criminals to exploit their profits or commit cybercrime”.
The talks stemmed from Malaysia’s concern about the rapid expansion of online lottery. Despite local laws explicitly prohibiting gambling and the fact that about 65 per cent of the Muslim population of the country is subject to religious regulations, offshore operators continue to attract users in local currency or social media marketing. Research by the National Biotechnology Centre of the United States of America has shown that there has been a significant increase in the participation and expenditure of Chinese and Indian communities from Malaysia.
The legal lottery channels in Malaysia include licensed lottery tickets, horse races and the Cloudtop resort casino. However, data from 2018 show that illegal lottery revenues are still 60 per cent higher than those of six legal operators. With the spread of smartphones, high-speed Internet coverage and a high level of sports enthusiasm among young people, badmintons and British Superballs are growing “unprecedently” through offshore platforms.
Meta updated its lottery advertising policy in July, which provided that only advertisers authorized by a specific jurisdiction could advertise in a licensed area, Malaysia being classified as a non-support market. However, Meta emphasizes that compliance with local regulations is the responsibility of advertisers rather than the platform.
At the same time, the Malaysian Business Lottery Management Board is independently strengthening its efforts to eliminate lottery advertising and combat digital promotion. As part of the Government’s overall initiative to promote cybersecurity, the “Security Network Campaign”, launched earlier this year by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs, has reached 2,600 schools throughout the country, with the goal of expanding to 10,000 by 2026.
