Study finds illegal gambling ads common on Facebook in Vietnam

A recent report has found that ads appear on accounts whose owners never search for gambling.

Vietnam.- A recent survey by VnExpress has revealed that Facebook is showing illegal gambling and adult content ads in Vietnam, including to accounts whose owners have not searched for such content. The study found that 96 per cent of respondents had come across gambling ads on Facebook, along with content they found “disgusting”. Some 81 per cent said such ads were common.

Users said that the ads appear at specific times of day: gambling ads in the afternoon and adult content in the evening. The contentious ads were frequently livestreams directing users to gambling websites.

Mai Thanh Phu, an online marketing expert, said Facebook’s censorship system only monitors the beginning of a live stream, which may initially not contain any objectionable content but may then advertise gambling after Facebook approves it and starts charging.

Phu warned that purchasing a fan page for streaming or Facebook ads is simple and that although users can report violations and turn off the ads, the same content can reappear.

Gambling in Vietnam is illegal outside a handful of venues and is punishable with fines of between VND100m and VND50m (US$430 to US$2,150) and 3 to 7 years in prison. Vietnamese citizens are only allowed to enter two casinos: one on the southern island of Phu Quoc and the other in Van Don in the northern province of Quang Ninh. Online gambling and its advertising is prohibited.

See also: Da Lat City considers allowing casinos to boost tourism