Paf and Meta launch Switzerland pilot to curb unlicensed gambling ads

Project will share license documentation and URLs to help Meta identify licensed operators and affiliates, with a view to scaling to other markets.

Nordic gaming operator Paf has agreed a pilot project with Meta in Switzerland aimed at limiting the reach of unlicensed gambling companies on Meta’s platforms. The work is set to start shortly, with Paf aiming to develop a model that could be scaled to other markets.

Paf Chief Business Development Officer Jesper Eliasson introduced the pilot at SBC Summit in Lisbon. Under the project, Paf will share license documents and URLs with Meta to help the platform distinguish between licensed and unlicensed operators. Paf said the material will cover both operators and affiliates.

Paf is the technology and knowledge partner of mycasino.ch, operated by Grand Casino Luzern. Paf said mycasino.ch is the market leader in Switzerland’s licensed market, with revenue of more than 100 million euros a year. Eliasson argued that unlicensed operators “work systematically” to bypass platform controls and that Europe’s “patchwork of licenses” can obscure who is behind an ad. “The license can come from somewhere entirely different, and in that tangle of jurisdictions it is hard to spot. That is why we are focusing on Switzerland, to see whether we can build a model that can then be scaled up,” he said.

Eliasson also called for regulators to use stronger enforcement measures alongside platform cooperation, including cease and desist letters to operators and affiliates, structured cross-border cooperation—including with US authorities—and the ability to freeze assets of operators targeting regulated markets. “We can share data and have good conversations with the platforms, but that does not take us all the way. The authorities need to use their tools – cease and desist letters, cooperation across borders and the possibility of freezing assets,” he said.

Paf framed the pilot as part of its push for responsible play and channelization toward licensed operators. “I don't want to share the market with anyone who has no license, has not paid for the license or the compliance work, and who also has no responsible gaming measures in place,” Eliasson said. “I don't know whether we will succeed, but we have taken the first steps. We are having good conversations together, and Meta does not want illegal operators on its platform. So we keep working on it and see how it goes.” Paf said it intends to continue working with Meta against unlicensed operators regardless of the pilot’s outcome.