GME3: Ad-iós to Social Casinos, MOVEit and Lose It & An Age-Old Problem

In this week’s GME3, regulators are tightening the reins on digital platforms from online gambling crackdowns to cybersecurity failures and social media age restrictions. Google’s latest policy update bans social casino advertising, reflecting growing legal pressure on Big Tech’s role in digital gambling. Meanwhile, Nova Scotia’s privacy watchdog has criticized the government’s handling of a massive cybersecurity breach, exposing weak security practices. And in Australia, a new report highlights how easily children bypass social media age limits, raising questions about the effectiveness of upcoming restrictions. As tech companies face increasing scrutiny, these developments signal a shifting landscape for digital regulation. Read all three stories below!

Gambling

Ad-iós to Social Casinos

Google has announced that it intends to implement stricter rules on social casino game advertising as part of its updated Gambling and Games policy, effective April 14, 2025. The new policy follows a Washington State court ruling against social casino operator High 5 Games, which resulted in a $25 million penalty. In response, Google is banning affiliates and aggregators that promote social casino games. Any violation will lead to immediate and permanent suspension from Google Ads, with no prior warning.

This move signals a major shift in how Google handles social casino content. The crackdown aligns with growing legal scrutiny of Big Tech’s role in social casino gambling. Some have argued that platforms facilitating payments and taking commissions from in-game transactions are essentially acting as bookmakers. Todd Logan of Edelson PC, the firm behind the High 5 Games lawsuit, stated that Big Tech is not just allowing social casinos to operate but profiting from users’ gambling losses.

Beyond social casinos, the broader policy update tightens restrictions on gambling-related advertising and introduces the following formal definition of gambling:

Staking something of value on the outcome of events or processes determined by an element of chance with the opportunity to win something of value.

Google’s new policy also bans the promotion of real-money Mahjong gambling in the Asia-Pacific region and prohibits offline gambling ads in several countries, aligning with local laws. Advertisers must now proactively update Google if their gambling license status changes or risk immediate ad suspension.

Google’s new stance on social casinos marks a significant shift, reflecting mounting legal pressure on tech companies profiting from digital gambling models. As legal battles continue, this policy change could be the first step in a broader crackdown on social casino games and their ties to major tech platforms.

Media

MOVEit and Lose It

Nova Scotia’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, Tricia Ralph, has found that the provincial government lacked adequate security measures before a massive 2023 cybersecurity breach involving MOVEit, a file transfer service. In her report, Ralph stated that weak protocols worsened the breach’s impact and that some of the government’s post-breach actions added stress for victims. She urged stronger leadership to ensure compliance with privacy laws.

The breach, which surfaced in June 2023, was part of a global cybersecurity attack affecting 18.5 million people. About 100,000 Nova Scotians had sensitive data stolen, including banking details, health card numbers, and social insurance numbers. Those affected included government employees, healthcare workers, students, teachers, and even newborns.

Ralph’s investigation found that basic security practices, like a privacy impact assessment, were not conducted. MOVEit was also misused as a long-term data repository, worsening the breach. While the government quickly notified victims and provided credit monitoring, its notification letters lacked details of the breach, provided outdated contact information, and were sent to incorrect addresses, leading to 14,000 letters being returned.

Ralph issued eight recommendations, including setting data retention limits, annually reviewing MOVEit usage, and consulting her office before sending future breach notifications. She also urged residents to question the government about data security practices.

The government has 30 days to respond and claims it has already acted on many recommendations, including finalizing a privacy assessment and improving incident management.

Entertainment

An Age-Old Problem

A report from Australia’s online safety regulator has revealed that children can easily bypass social media age restrictions, even as the country prepares to enforce a ban on users under 16 by late 2025.

The study, which surveyed users between the ages of 8 and 15, and analyzed data from major platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitch, found that 80% of children aged 8 to 12 used social media in 2024. YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat were the most popular. Although YouTube allows supervised access for children under 13, none of the surveyed younger users reported having their accounts shut down due to age restrictions.

The report also found that 95% of teens under 16 used at least one of the eight platforms surveyed. Most platforms required users to enter a birthdate at sign-up, but they relied solely on self-declaration with no additional age verification measures.

While platforms like TikTok, Twitch, Snapchat, and YouTube used tools to identify underage users, others did not, despite having the technology. Many services have conducted research to improve age verification, and some provided ways for users to report underage accounts.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant emphasized that relying on self-reported ages is insufficient and that platforms must do more to comply with upcoming regulations.