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Real-money betting ads on Facebook and Instagram run only with Meta's prior written permission. Meta grants it to a specific ad account after a manual review of your gambling license, your legal entity, and the URLs you plan to promote. Without it, every betting ad is rejected, however compliant the creative is.
This guide is part of our series on betting advertising. The overview of all platforms is in Advertising Betting on Meta, TikTok & Google.
Below: what needs authorization, which licenses Meta accepts, how the One-Time Verification Rule works, and how to get approved.
What needs Meta authorization
Meta's online gambling and games policy covers any product where money or something of monetary value is both the stake and the prize. Sports betting, online casino, poker, and lottery all fall under it.
Meta does not split verification by sub-vertical. One approved license covers betting together with the other gambling products the license itself allows. That makes Meta simpler than Google and TikTok, where sports betting is approved as its own category.
Two cases teams often miss:
- Affiliate and aggregator landing pages. They need their own permission, even if no betting happens on the page.
- Creators. A creator who publishes a betting ad from their own account needs full approval, registration as an affiliate, and a letter signed by both parties. If the operator runs the ad and only tags the creator, no extra authorization is needed.
Which licenses Meta accepts
Meta accepts gambling licenses from a defined list of countries. As of October 2026, our working list has 47:
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Mozambique, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Zambia.
Several established gambling jurisdictions are not on the list. A license from Malta, Cyprus, Italy, Lithuania, Israel, or the UAE does not clear Meta verification on its own.
The One-Time Verification Rule
This is the rule that makes Meta different from Google and TikTok, and the one operators most often misread.
What it is
Meta verifies an advertiser once. According to guidance Meta has shared with partners, a license from any of the 47 accepted countries clears gambling verification for the account. After that, the account can target other countries too, except the 19 markets Meta excludes outright (listed below). Meta does not run a separate verification for every country you add.
How it compares with Google and TikTok
An example
A sportsbook holds licenses in Spain, Colombia, and Peru. On Google, it files three certification applications. On Meta, it gets verified once, for example with the Spanish license, and adds Colombia and Peru as territories on the same authorization.
What the rule does not do
The rule simplifies Meta's process. It does not change the law in your target markets:
- Local law still applies. If a country requires its own license to advertise betting, a license from another country does not cover it. Germany, for example, requires a German license.
- Excluded markets stay closed. No license opens the 19 excluded countries.
- Territories are still declared. The application lists target territories, and adding one later is a separate request.
At Evido by Aitarget, we use the rule to cut paperwork, not to stretch licenses. We enable a market only where the operator holds the license that market requires.
Where you can't advertise, even with approval
Meta excludes 19 countries from gambling ad targeting regardless of verification status:
Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam.
The Philippines is on both lists. A Philippine license clears verification, but Meta won't let you target the Philippines itself.
For CIS operators, this closes Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan on Meta whatever the license. In Azerbaijan, TikTok is the only one of the three major platforms that accepts licensed sports betting advertisers.
How Meta authorization works
Step 1. Prepare the account
You need an active Business Manager and an ad account with no serious policy violations. Approval belongs to that account, so choose the one you plan to scale on.
Step 2. Submit the request
The request goes through Meta Business Suite → "Authorizations and Verifications" (some guides call it "Permissions and Verifications"). You declare your role (operator, affiliate, or aggregator), the target territories, the exact URLs, and the ad account IDs.
Step 3. Provide the documents
Meta asks for:
- a valid gambling license
- the legal name and registration documents of the advertising entity
- screenshots of the website or app
- the full list of ad accounts that will run betting ads
Documents must be in English, and every case is reviewed manually. Meta can request more documents after approval.
Step 4. Wait for the review
Reported timelines range from 5–14 days to several weeks. Incomplete or inconsistent documents are the most common cause of delay.
Step 5. Launch within the approval
Target 18+ at minimum, or the higher legal age where local law sets one. Run ads only in approved territories and only to approved URLs.
What stays tied to your approval
Approval is a status you maintain. Enforcement happens at the account level, so one non-compliant ad can affect the whole account.
Why Meta rejects betting authorization requests
The same reasons come up again and again:
- License mismatch. The license comes from a jurisdiction outside the accepted list, or local law in the target country requires another license.
- Incomplete landing page. Operator identity, license number, or responsible gambling links are missing.
- Youth appeal. Ads or landing pages look attractive to minors.
- Missing local warnings. Some regulators require their own warning. In Czechia, for example, creatives need the Ministry of Finance warning and an 18+ symbol.
- Launching early. Ads go live before authorization is confirmed, or target outside the approved territories.
- Creative claims. Guaranteed-win language or bonus terms that are hidden or misleading.
All markets in one place
Meta is only one part of the picture. We built a geo matrix that puts every market side by side across Meta, Google, TikTok, Snapchat, X, and Telegram Ads: where your license clears verification, where you can target, and which conditions apply. It is updated as policies change.
Most delays with Meta come from gaps between the license, the landing page, and the target markets. Evido by Aitarget, a Meta Business Partner, checks all three before the request is filed and handles escalations through the partner channel.
Fill in the form below with your license details and target markets. We'll send you the link to the geo matrix and help you launch betting advertisng.
FAQ
Does Meta allow betting ads?
Yes, with prior written permission. Meta approves a specific ad account after reviewing your license, legal entity, and landing URLs.
What is Meta's One-Time Verification Rule?
Meta verifies a gambling advertiser once, with a license from one of 47 accepted countries. The approved account can then target other countries outside Meta's 19-country exclusion list, as long as local law allows it.
How long does Meta gambling authorization take?
Reported timelines range from 5–14 days to several weeks. Complete, consistent documents shorten the review.
Does a Maltese or Cyprus license work for Meta verification?
Not on its own. Neither country is on the list of licenses Meta accepts for gambling verification.
Can an agency or affiliate apply?
Yes. The applicant declares its role. Affiliates need permission for their own landing pages and usually a contract with a licensed operator.
TALK TO US
You’ll get a clear answer on what can be approved now, and if something can’t, we’ll explain what needs to change.
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