Facebook is the social media which has changed the way we use our devices and it is shaping our everyday life with every day. Something else which it might have influenced is the way people access the world of gambling on a day to day basis. UK-based independent organizations have pointed accusations at the social media platform, claiming that the website is not protecting its users from the harmful effects of gambling since it gives illegal gaming the chance to thrive on the site’s platform.
It is not news to anyone using the social platform on a regular basis, that people who have accounts on the Facebook platform can place bets on privately run lottery groups. This, in turn, gives the people a chance to play for a wide variety of prizes which are given to the winners in those illicit games. Those winning could range from object prizes to the likings of mobile phones, toys, and gaming consoles, to cash prizes amounting to £5,000. As for the stakes which are commonly set, players could place bets estimating from 50p to £20 on the number of the bonus ball which will be drawn in the next Lotto game.
How Illegal Lotteries Find a Place to Thrive?
While people from near and far are betting on the number, those responsible for the illegal lottery are the ones collecting the larger part of the money. Very often it happens that the managers of such illegal gambling organizations are trying to trick the participants and there have been instances when the administrators of those groups end up disappearing and stealing all proceeds amassed.
Easily impressive people who use Facebook are the first to fall for the scam and children are often curious to give gambling a try. These illegal bets on the National Lottery do not bring any profit to the actual legal organization and this does not benefit the community. They are also confusing many people who think that they are participating in the real National Lottery instead.
On the contrary, the said illegal bets deprive god causes from the funding they need since real tickets are not purchased. As it could be seen by searching the term bonus ball on Facebook, at the moment there are hundreds of illegal raffle groups with more than 2,000 members participating on a regular basis. The legal rights and personal details of the players are not in any way protected, as Paypal addresses, administrator names, and bank details could be easily found. The Chief Executive of Gamble Aware, Marc Etches, stated that in the past three years there has been a jump in the report of illegal lotteries as the participants do not need to verify their age and right to participate in the betting activities.
Adam Bradford is an anti-gambling campaigner, who stated that a big corporation such as Facebook should prevent such illegal businesses from further proliferating and put an end to the scamming practices. There are some bonus ball games that are organized to raise money for smaller campaigns, but they are also breaking the rules in a way. The UK Gambling Commission reported that it is working on the closure of such raffle groups when they are reported to the regulator. The fines for those who breach the law can go up to £5,000. The social platform itself commented only that an investigation of the issue is in progress.
