The owners of Facebook, one of the largest social networking sites in the world has banned casino operators from advertising on their site. Along with gambling, Facebook has also banned any advertising related to spy cameras, firearms and tobacco.
It would seem as though Facebook is trying to protect their image as a site interested only in connecting people to friends, family or even those with similar interests. Casino operators are, however, unhappy that they are being grouped with dangerous or unhealthy habits or pastimes. The statement goes into specifics about all the different types of gambling (sports betting, bingo, poker, etc.) and admits that although they understand that the online gambling industry is thriving, they do not want to take part in it.
Facebook is very strict with what type of content they will allow on their site. Besides gambling, there are multiple items that are on the “restricted” list including unauthorized medications, religious content, pyramid business schemes and plenty of others. Facebook has enough members to be able to make these kinds of decisions and, as long as there aren’t any legal stipulations, are well within their rights to decide what type of content they post. Since North America has to catch up to the popularity of online casinos in Europe, this is just another roadblock that casino operators need to go around. It seems as though they are trying to set an ethical standard for other sites that post advertisements and, other than complain about the prejudice, online casino operators are unable to do anything to change it.
