Reuters has reported that, in the media’s estimates, 10% of Meta’s revenue – the company behind Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger – is generated from high-risk advertisement revenue, which includes illegal gambling but also websites potentially linked to various scam activities.
Meta Is Holding Back on Moderating Dangerous Gambling Ads on Its Platforms
These ads receive billions of views daily across Meta’s platform, specifically Facebook and Instagram. Reuters reviewed documents covering the period between 2021 and 2025 to arrive at these conclusions, with the high-risk rewards potentially generating $7 billion.
Reuters is similarly arguing that the documents which it reviewed, including a presentation, clearly stated that targeting scam-related ads would hurt the company’s bottom line, i.e. the media is asserting that Meta might be making conscious choices about not limiting potentially harmful content.
Reuters further stipulates that many of the ads that are usually targeted as scams or illegal gambling are not automatically flagged by Meta’s internal warning systems, although they give the ads in question a 95% chance of committing something fraudulent.
However, Meta has responded through spokesperson Andy Stone, who argued that the way Reuters presented the documents created a distorted view of what the company meant to carry out by assessing its revenue from potentially fraudulent content.
Rather, argued Stone, it was a preliminary report on how to strengthen integrity and prevent such harmful content from appearing online. In a comment for Reuters, Stone said:
“The assessment was done to validate our planned integrity investments – including in combating frauds and scams – which we did. We aggressively fight fraud and scams because people on our platforms don’t want this content, legitimate advertisers don’t want it, and we don’t want it either.
Meta Is Still planning to Cut This Revenue Source, But Not Abruptly
However, Meta’s own review of certain processes has been adamant. The review seen by Reuters concluded that it was easier to conduct scams, or at least advertise them, on Meta platforms than on Google.
Reuters did point out that Meta is indeed committed to reducing its revenue from such illicit activities, including sexual services, fake health products, scams, and gambling, but it was similarly worried about abruptly cutting this revenue stream.