The groups returned to the network to look for new users after Meta-owned Facebook banned them for sending streams of private messages to prospective gamblers offering free recommendations in exchange for signing up with online bookies.
Following an investigation by The Australian Financial Review, which exposed how the company took advantage of Facebook’s targeted advertising and chatbots using AI to entice users to join up for various online gambling businesses, the groups managed by the Albury-based LRI Media were made public.
According to industry sources, the organisations primarily target men and have assisted emerging online bookies like Dabble, which is funded by Tabcorp, in attracting tens of thousands of new customers.
Now that the groups have gained thousands of new followers, Facebook has reacted by deleting them from the network for a second time.
According to a Meta spokeswoman, “all marketers who promote online gambling and gaming are expected to respect local applicable regulations and obtain authorization from Meta before initiating advertising.” “These pages have been removed because they violated our policies.
“We are always enhancing how we identify and stop violating activity, and we urge individuals to report this behaviour when they encounter it,” the statement reads.
The ad targeting engine on Facebook
In major western nations, particularly in Australia and the United States, the wagering and online sports gambling sectors are growing rapidly in size and popularity.
Due to the effectiveness of targeting based on a user’s past behaviour, Facebook’s self-service targeting features are a blessing for contemporary gambling businesses.
Then there is LRI Media, a business that refers potential clients to internet bookies and is referred to as a “betting affiliate.”
According to sources, affiliates frequently receive $200 per customer they promote in addition to up to 30% of each person’s lifetime losses. Therefore, affiliates are encouraged to find and refer as many customers as they can to various online bookies.
Formerly known as “The Shark” and “Roughie Kings 2022,” LRI’s Facebook groups leveraged the platform’s advertising tools to attract members.
The groups reemerged under the names “Sharky’s Racing Tips” and “King of the Roughies” after Facebook removed the pages. Users receive streams of messages from the chatbots after clicking to access the ostensibly “free tips” from the groups.
Hey, we’re offering you a free tip to prove that we’re the real deal with no conditions. Although it won’t jump for a bit, we’ve heard some excellent buzz about it and thought we’d share it with you. To access, click the FREE TIP button below.
Users are provided links to sign up for online bookies, most frequently the Tabcorp-backed Dabble, in order to get the purportedly “free tips.” The chatbots sit inactive for a few days even when users click “not interested” before resuming with more direct messages.
Our understanding, based on legal counsel and correspondence from Facebook support, is that our pages are compliant, according to Paddy Trutwin of LRI Media Group in an email sent on Monday.
Regarding the aforementioned Facebook groups, we only had Sharky’s Racing Tips and King of the Roughies refer racing consumers from Australia; but, recently, we have been concentrating more on the US.
Playing with customers
According to corporate papers, two of the entrepreneurs who founded Dabble also own LRI Media. Dabble was valued at $150 million this year after receiving a minority investment from Tabcorp.
The company’s CEO recently told a parliamentary hearing that there was “too much gambling advertising” and proposed a framework for regulating advertising on social media. Tabcorp has been proactive about the need for new laws in the sector.
A spokeswoman for Tabcorp stated that the business was “a minority shareholder in Dabble and does not have operational control,” separating it from Dabble and LRI Media.
Bookmakers are prohibited from providing “inducements” like free tips in exchange for joining up for the service under the gambling laws of various states.
According to a document reviewed by this masthead, the NSW gambling regulator determined LRI Media and Dabble had infringed the law regarding inducements earlier this year.
