Australian Influencer Accused of Promoting Offshore Crypto Gambling Platform
Controversy Surrounding Australian Influencer and Offshore Gambling Promotion
A well-known Australian social media personality with over 800,000 Instagram followers has come under scrutiny for allegedly promoting an offshore online casino, potentially violating Australia’s gambling regulations. The issue was highlighted by a British media outlet known for its critical stance on gambling.
Influencer Advocates Gambling Over Paying Rent
The influencer, known as Dinah, who streams content online and boasts 820,000 followers on Instagram, has been the center of multiple complaints lodged with Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook. These complaints accuse her of pushing unauthorized gambling content targeted at Australian audiences.
Despite numerous reports, Meta has not taken action, allowing Dinah’s content to remain accessible. An investigation revealed that her posts and videos frequently reference a specific crypto-based casino, sometimes displaying its branding overtly.
One of her video captions quipped, “Why pay rent when you can just double it,” implying viewers could skip rent payments and gamble the money to potentially increase it. Several posts overtly promoted the crypto casino and its application, drawing concern from users who alerted Meta.
Many of these reports to Meta resulted in responses indicating no violations were found, which raises questions about the platform’s enforcement of gambling advertisement policies.
Meta’s Role and Industry Challenges
While recent reports suggest Meta has taken some steps to reduce fraudulent advertisements, the platform remains hesitant to act decisively, partly due to the substantial revenue generated from these high-risk ads, including gambling promotions.
Attempts by media and regulatory bodies to engage Meta on this specific case have been unsuccessful. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has previously issued warnings to Meta about illegal gambling advertising and urged the company to take stronger measures.
ACMA has confirmed that the casino brand linked to Dinah has cooperated by implementing restrictions intended to block Australian users from accessing its services.
Concerns around cooperation with Meta were echoed by a UK gambling regulator, highlighting the difficulties faced in managing illegal gambling advertisements on the platform.
