Jim Curry advocates for ethical gambling through his podcast, Better Gaming Show, a commitment that often leads to his social media accounts being suspended. Recently, TikTok banned him after he discussed compliance with lottery regulations.
"I get blacklisted all the time," Curry shared during a video call last week with CasinoBeats. "For whatever reason, the algorithms or the moderation policies see either gambling or lottery and presume that I’m doing something against the rules."
Typically, Curry's accounts are reinstated after he appeals the bans.
"I appealed it. It said, 'Your appeal has been rejected. This is a permanent ban. If you want to download all your data…' And that’s where I was like, 'Oh, I’ve lost it all.' It’s not a massive account; it was never about whether it’s a massive account or not. It’s the principle of the thing," he explained.
After taking his complaints to LinkedIn, his Better Gaming Show account was reactivated.
"Last night I copped a permanent ban (even following an appeal) for discussing how to make gambling more robust, safer and compliant," he posted on LinkedIn. "Meanwhile, I see a waterfall of accounts and posts in my timeline featuring tipsters promising guaranteed wins, crypto casino ads with no age filter checks, and grifters/influencers selling systems to teenagers."
“If TikTok's moderation policy can’t tell the difference between reform and harm, it’s clearly just protecting attention, engagement, and commercial gain," he contended.
Much to the relief of his 43 followers, Curry saw his account restored shortly after his LinkedIn outcry.
"To be honest, it’s a really dull watch," he admitted. "Two old people discussing how to make gambling safe. I could understand it if they banned it for being too boring."
However, he received a notification that his ban was related to gambling content.
After his LinkedIn post, Curry noticed who viewed it.
"I saw that quite a few people from TikTok had been on there. Then I just presumed that my little hissy fit probably got somebody internally to just switch it back on."
TikTok did not provide any notification regarding why his account was reactivated.
"I find it absolutely baffling how people who legitimately try to improve the industry and talk about stuff constantly get banned," Curry expressed. This incident was not his first run-in with bans and likely won’t be his last.
Curry believes there is a significant number of accounts promoting gambling on TikTok, with many users encountering sponsored content from crypto casinos such as Stake or Rainbet.
TikTok's gambling policy prohibits ads that promote unlicensed or illegal gambling services. Rainbet, which is blocked in the UK and US, still presents a prevalent presence in TikTok videos in these regions. A simple search reveals numerous videos of users gambling on the app, raising questions about how such content evades moderation.
“It gets engagement, it gets people’s attention, and it probably gets people staying on their apps for longer,” Curry remarked. “Anything that increases dwell time, view time, number of videos watched, all of that sort of stuff, is going to be a win for them.”
Curry also criticized Meta and Google, highlighting the challenges for advertisers on these platforms.
“I have to jump through hoops to advertise on Meta and Google, but they’re all getting advertising money and revenue from gambling companies,” he pointed out.
A report from the previous year indicated that Meta generated approximately $16 billion annually from scams and illegal services, including gambling, which constitutes about 10% of its total revenue.
Meta claims to be committed to solving these challenges, but internal documents suggest the company has limits on how far it’s willing to engage. One document noted that addressing scams and illegal services should not exceed 0.15% of its total revenue, about $135 million of the $90 billion Meta made in the first half of 2025.
“Let’s be cautious,” stated a manager overseeing the effort, emphasizing the importance of revenue stability.
Earlier this year, the UK Gambling Commission accused Meta of overlooking illegal businesses advertising on its platforms.
Curry did not outright accuse TikTok or Meta of intentionally allowing prohibited content to slip through their systems.
"That’s a big accusation to make, because that would be quite fatalistic for them,” he stated. He recognized the difficulties in monitoring social media and acknowledged that he does not possess a solution.
"I think there are a lot of black market operators who will keep coming,” he continued. “You cut off the head, and more emerge. The Gambling Commission announced the number of URLs blocked for gambling sites in the UK. I think it was in the tens of thousands. But that was just the tip of the iceberg; that was the ones that they reported."
Since 2024, the Gambling Commission's Illegal Markets team has reported over 447,000 URLs to search engines, with nearly 288,000 successfully removed.
Moreover, content creators find ways around automation tools blocking gambling content. "You can’t mention certain words because the videos will be taken straight down, so people end up finding ways around it. They use words like grape or corn,” Curry explained.
Some creators follow guides that teach the "dark art of TikTok gambling ads," using indirect language and appealing to known demographics to covertly suggest gambling excitement.
Meta recently urged TikTok and Google to join efforts in implementing stricter measures to protect users from unwanted content. This call to action is part of an $18 billion settlement Meta has agreed to establish with lawsuits across 48 states.
These new policies will include daily limits, nighttime app shutdowns, and enhanced parental controls to restrict teens' social media usage.
"We want to ensure teens benefit from this new industry standard, but we cannot do it alone. These protections will only be truly effective if we work with our peers—TikTok and YouTube—to put the same measures in place," stated a Meta representative.
Curry, now back on TikTok, expresses an interest in connecting with others who share his mission for safer gambling. He invites engagement through his website, suggesting participants could even appear in upcoming TikTok videos until those too are taken down.
