Hardly a fair comparison. You will not blow your (and potentially your family's) savings by browsing facebook and seeing being shown ads.

Neither will everyone that uses a casino. Much like not everyone that uses Facebook becomes embroiled in family/friend/random internet stranger drama, unknowingly teaches their children that staring at a tiny screen rather than conversing is 'normal' or breaks up their family by reconnecting with their highschool sweetheart.

Note - not for or against online casinos, just disagree with your point.

> You will not blow your (and potentially your family's) savings by browsing facebook and seeing being shown ads.

Ads often incite people to buy things. This must work at least some of the time, or ads wouldn't exist. So some people do spend their money on unnecessary junk through browsing facebook.

To be fair, a good share (I'd say most ? But data is needed ^^) of advertising is designed to make you prefer a brand over an other once you decided you want a new product. I'm not sure there's really a lot designed to make you do a buy decision without a preexisting want (<--- I'm trying to avoid the word need here, because it's definitely not a need, but my english isn't good enough)

You argument still holds that advertising still makes you possibily spend more for the exact same thing, but it's hardly comparable to gambling addictive behaviours in my opinion.

It's seems to me the massive advertising machine in the US produces far more collateral damage (in the form of environmental degradation from people buying junk designed with planned obsolescense) than gambling.

I've seen numerous people fired for browsing Facebook at work. Not saying you're right or wrong, just saying it's not nearly that cut and dry and I think you'd agree if you think about it for a bit.

Not to mention all scamming and casino ads that are running on Facebook and Google for that matter...

Whataboutism logical fallacy.

https://youtu.be/1ZAPwfrtAFY?t=385

It's not a fallacy because GP didn't use it to refute an argument, he merely asked a question.