Google Expands Gambling Programmatic Reach Across 37 Markets

Google will expand the markets in which authorized buyers can serve online gambling and social casino advertising through its programmatic network from August 10, while also tightening certification requirements for gambling advertisers using Google Ads from September 14. The changes split access more widely on the programmatic side while raising the bar for direct advertisers.

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Programmatic Policy Expands

Google notified AdSense publishers of the Authorized Buyers change in a mandatory service email sent on July 20. With the new policy in place, authorized publishers would be allowed to advertise online gambling and social casino content in a larger range of geographies, and the certification process, which is required for end advertisers at the moment for the programmatic channel which would be dropped for these territories.

The email listed 37 territories: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, the Philippines, Portugal, Romania, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

It should be noted that ads served under this expanded policy would have to be compliant with the local law, regulation, and industry standards in each geography. The policy covers online casinos, sportsbooks, bingo and slot websites and applications, online lottery products, sports betting, and games involving virtual currencies or in-game items with real-world value.

Publisher Controls Remain

Google’s existing Authorized Buyers gambling policy already includes a country table that governs how gambling creatives may serve across auction types. Creatives targeting countries outside that table are disapproved, except where a creative is served through preferred deals or programmatic guaranteed arrangements with a publisher block override enabled.

The complete revised policy text will be released on August 10 on the policy page of the Authorized Buyers policy. Google stated that the change only affects the Authorized Buyers policy and does not affect any other advertising policies, such as the Google Ads Gambling and Games policy.

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Publishers in the newly added markets may see more gambling-related display advertising as a result. Even so, they can still block individual advertisers, restrict specific authorised buyers, and block sensitive or general advertising categories through the Ad Review Center.

Google Ads Gets Stricter

A separate set of changes to the Google Ads Gambling and Games policy will take effect on September 14. Those changes concern which advertisers are permitted to use Google Ads, rather than the jurisdictions in which gambling advertising may run.

Advertisers will need to meet expanded certification standards and maintain what Google describes as good policy health in order to keep approval. The company will consider both licensing status and a record of compliance with platform rules.

Operators with repeated violations or weak compliance histories may be denied certification or lose existing approvals. Marketing agencies managing multiple advertising accounts will face additional scrutiny, with repeated breaches across manager accounts potentially affecting certification eligibility.

Wider Access, Higher Bar

Taken together, the 2 updates broaden access to Google’s publisher network for programmatic gambling demand while raising the compliance threshold for advertisers buying directly through Google Ads. The programmatic change opens the door in 37 markets, while the Google Ads update places more weight on policy history and account behaviour.

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Source: Asia Gaming Brief