Google makes its gambling advertising policy more stringent
From April 14, Google will implement significant updates to its advertising policy concerning gambling and gaming.
These updated standards will affect advertisers promoting gambling-related content and will introduce stricter definitions, country-specific restrictions, and heightened accreditation requirements.
A detailed breakdown of the upcoming changes is available for review. One of the most notable alterations is the redefinition of what constitutes "gambling" and “gambling-promoting content.”
Under the new rules, any website that endorses gambling services or contains direct links to online gaming platforms will be classified as promoting gambling. This clarification specifically aims to regulate affiliate and aggregator websites, which will now be limited to providing only comparative or informative content regarding licensed gaming services.
Should these sites extend their content beyond these parameters, they will face policy restrictions. Furthermore, Google is moving away from a vague notion of "country restrictions" to implement more precise, country-specific limitations. The revised policy will explicitly identify nations where gambling advertising is prohibited. In addition, the updated regulation will outline specific locations requiring separate accreditation and establish further guidelines for social casino games.
It will clarify where advertisements for social casino games may be legally placed, ensuring compliance with local laws. The revised policy will also delineate between traditional gambling and "online non-casino games," providing greater clarity on how to handle advertising for skill-based games that have often been inaccurately classified under broad gambling regulations.
