Facebook accounts for 78% of online gambling content flagged in Malaysia

Facebook was responsible for 78% of online gambling content identified by Malaysia’s communications regulator for takedown between January 1 and August 17, as authorities increase pressure on major social media platforms to detect and remove gambling-related material proactively.

Facebook remains the dominant source of online gambling content requiring regulatory action in Malaysia, according to Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil. Speaking on August 18, he said 78% of all online gambling content detected by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) between January 1 and August 17 was found on Facebook. YouTube accounted for 18% and TikTok for 4%.

Across all categories, MCMC submitted takedown requests covering 470,593 pieces of harmful content during the period. Social media providers complied with requests involving 436,661 items, equivalent to a 93% removal rate. Online gambling represented the largest category at 64% of all content flagged, while scams accounted for another 27%.

Fahmi said the figures demonstrate that gambling and fraud remain the two principal categories driving Malaysia’s social-media enforcement activity. Together, they represented 91% of the material targeted for removal. Facebook was also the largest source of scam-related content, accounting for 53%, ahead of TikTok at 39% and Threads at 5%.

The minister criticised platforms for frequently responding only after MCMC or members of the public report problematic material. He called on providers to identify, block and remove content proactively when it clearly breaches their own policies, arguing that delays allow gambling promotions and other harmful material to reach a larger audience before action is taken.

Malaysia has been tightening its approach to such content throughout 2026. In May, Fahmi reported that Facebook accounted for 81% of online gambling material detected at that stage of the year. In July, the Communications Ministry said providers had removed 457,562 pieces of online gambling content between January 2025 and May 2026, representing 98% of related takedown requests, while internet providers had blocked 1,778 gambling websites at MCMC’s request.

Regulatory pressure is also increasing under Malaysia’s Online Safety Act 2025. Authorities are developing Child Protection and Risk Mitigation codes intended to require licensed platforms to strengthen their systems for handling high-risk material, including scams and online gambling. Fahmi said earlier in August that platforms were being given time to align their internal mechanisms so that some harmful content could be detected and removed automatically.

MCMC’s role focuses largely on communications regulation, platform cooperation, investigations and content restrictions, while gambling offences generally remain under the jurisdiction of the Royal Malaysia Police. The two functions increasingly overlap as illegal gambling promotion shifts toward social media, sponsored posts and other digital channels.

The latest figures therefore place Facebook at the centre of Malaysia’s online gambling content challenge. While platforms are complying with a high proportion of formal takedown requests, authorities are increasingly arguing that removal after detection is not enough. The next stage of Malaysia’s approach is likely to put greater emphasis on prevention, automated detection and platform accountability before gambling-related content reaches users.