Gambling ads persist on Meta, now boosted by AI videos
Measures to curb online gambling and betting in Bangladesh are frequently discussed, but the reality presents a different picture. In 2024, a research by Dismislab revealed that thousands of betting advertisements ran on various Meta platforms targeting Bangladeshi users. A year later, it’s business as usual. Recent investigations by Dismislab show a significant number of gambling advertisements are still displayed daily in Meta’s ad library.
What’s new in this illegal promotion is the use of AI-generated videos. These videos feature various AI characters promoting gambling apps in different settings, including political rallies featuring widely known political leaders and even courtrooms to gain credibility and lure users into the trap. A recent newspaper report found how these clickbait ads are targeting poor, unemployed youth across the country who invest in these sites hoping for profit. Some become addicted to online gambling, while others deposit money into fake gambling sites and never get it back.
These advertisements are simultaneously violating both the laws of the Government of Bangladesh and Meta’s policies, which clearly state that gambling-related ads must not be shown in Bangladesh.
Ads running in their thousands
On a single day on August 12, Dismislab found 4,161 advertisements by searching only 10 generic gambling and betting keywords such as “krikiya,” “mostbet,” “jeeta,” “jitaace,” “Babu88,” “casino,” “betting,” “lucky 7,” “baji,” and “FB77” in the Meta Ad Library. Run from 225 pages, each of these ads promote gambling apps.
Screenshots of advertisements on Meta platforms promoting betting sites
The pages with the most advertisements were “Luck BD” and “FB77Super lucky,” with the former running at least 1,379 ads, and the latter at least 1,265 on that day alone. At least 100 advertisements were also run from three other pages: “Slots-001,” “FB77 Super Lucky,” and “Lisa Beasley.”
Pages that run highest number of ads
While the admin location for ‘Luck BD’ could not be determined, two administrators of the ‘FB77Super lucky’ page were located in the United States and Vietnam. An analysis of the other pages revealed that at least 62 pages were operating from Bangladesh. The highest number of admins outside Bangladesh were found in Vietnam, with 60, followed by India with 20, Malaysia with 18, and the United States with 17.
AI-generated videos replacing traditional gambling ads
A 2024 investigation by Dismislab revealed that gambling advertisements on various Meta platforms were using deceptively edited videos featuring celebrities, along with doctored content from television channels. In several instances, logos of well-known TV networks were misused to lend false credibility to gambling-related websites and apps. Now, these manipulated celebrity appearances and forged media clips have been replaced by AI-generated videos.
In a striking shift, the scammers are using more and more AI-generated videos to run gambling ads on Meta platforms, especially on Facebook. These videos feature characters from various professions and classes promoting gambling apps in different environments. Sometimes the scenes are set in a courtroom, a market, or a kitchen with a conversation between a mother and daughter. In some ads, videos promoting gambling apps have even used scenes from a rally of the new political party, the National Citizen Party (NCP).
These scenes set in hospitals, markets, doctors’ chambers, and courtrooms (clockwise) are examples of AI-generated videos used in gambling advertisements.
One such AI-generated video portrays a market scene where everyday struggles are highlighted to promote online gambling. It opens with a bare-chested rickshaw puller, towel over his shoulder, lamenting that after a long day’s work he can barely afford a quarter kilo of meat. Moments later, a man in a shirt and tie arrives and confidently orders five kilos, underscoring their stark economic divide. The rickshaw puller reflects that money rules everything, while the suited man responds, “Brother, I used to be a day laborer too. The FB77 game suddenly changed my life.” The exchange then shifts to promotional detail, highlighting sign-up bonuses, referral rewards, and the promise of big winnings from small deposits.
Another AI-generated video depicts a scene of a hospital, where a distraught mother pleads with a doctor to operate on her son, promising to pay later as she explains her financial hardships. The doctor refuses. The scene shifts to two people in tears, before focusing on a man who came up with a solution, “There is only one way. Oh, FB 77”. The video proceeds to show a lucky draw on a mobile phone, followed by the man depositing money at the hospital counter, claiming it came from his winnings. A voice in the background concludes, “FB 77 brought income, which doesn’t just mean money, it means you can save a life.”
A third AI-generated advertisement takes users to a courtroom. The video opens with one lawyer accusing the opposing client of wasting time on FB77, claiming he has no income and shirks his family responsibilities. The defense lawyer counters by insisting that FB77 is not a game but a source of earnings, citing promotional offers such as a Tk 58 sign-up bonus, Tk 1,888 on a Tk 100 recharge, and Tk 299 for referrals. The judge interrupts the exchange, declaring the client to be an “income genius” and asking where to find the link to FB77.
Screenshot from an AI-generated video promoting betting app, showing a scene from a rally held by the newly formed National Citizen Party (NCP)
A similar advertisement portrays a political rally, apparently modeled on the National Citizen Party (NCP). A figure resembling party leader Hasnat Abdullah addresses the crowd, promising jobs, income, and the chance to earn through the gambling site FB77. He describes it as an “innovative platform” where youth can both play games and make money. A man with a boom mic challenges him, calling it a gaming site, but the so-called leader insists it is a livelihood for the poor. A voice from the crowd then urges people to “earn before the vote” by joining FB77. Throughout the video, NCP leader Tasnim Zara is shown standing beside Abdullah, with an NCP banner visible in the background.
This investigation found 46 such AI-generated videos, of which at least 14 were used in multiple advertisements.
The Ads Violate Meta’s Policies
According to Meta’s policy, gambling ads cannot be promoted in countries where gambling is legally prohibited. Even in countries where gambling is legal, advertisers must get prior permission from Meta to display ads.
Meta has a separate list of countries where gambling advertisements cannot be targeted at users. Bangladesh is on this list. Meta’s policy also states that these ads cannot be targeted at any user under 18. However, despite a clear violation of these policies, Meta is failing to detect and take action against them.
Meta’s policy clearly says ads promoting gambling cannot target Bangladesh
Bangladeshi law on gambling advertisements
According to the Constitution of Bangladesh, the responsibility to prevent gambling falls directly on the state. Additionally, according to The Public Gambling Act of 1867, gambling in a public space is a punishable offense.
The Bangladesh High Court issued a rule in 2022 questioning why the failure of the defendants to stop, remove, or prevent the broadcast and promotion of illegal digital-online betting or gambling advertisements during games or news breaks on television, news portals, and social media screens should not be declared illegal and why an order to immediately stop or remove these advertisements should not be given.
In the Cyber Security Ordinance issued in May 2025, a specific prohibition has been imposed on gambling and the display of related advertisements in cyberspace. It states that: “If any person creates, operates, participates in, assists, or encourages gambling in cyberspace through any portal, app, or device, or takes part in advertisements to promote such gambling, or directly or indirectly promotes or advertises such activities, then such actions shall be considered a criminal offense.”
Methodology
This study employed a single-day data collection and analysis methodology to investigate the digital advertising landscape of gambling and betting platforms on the Meta Ad Library. The research was conducted on August 12, and the data collection process was initiated by searching for a specific set of 10 keywords: “krikiya,” “mostbet,” “jeeta,” “jitaace,” “Babu88,” “casino,” “betting,” “lucky 7,” “baji,” and “FB77.”
The data were systematically collected in two primary stages. First, the ads associated with these keywords were extracted from the Meta Ad Library. Subsequently, the pages on which these ads were running were identified and recorded. The second stage involved the “Page Transparency” section of each collected page. From the “Page Transparency” data, the primary focus of the analysis was to determine and verify the location of the page admin.
In parallel with this primary analysis, a separate analysis was conducted on ads that were identified as utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to generate video content for promotional purposes were segregated into a distinct dataset.
** Dismislab fellow Tonima Aktar Jim contributed to data collection.
