Google Tightens Gambling Ad Certification, Adding Licence Checks and New Account Restrictions
Google has overhauled the certification process for gambling advertising, putting more responsibility on operators and affiliates to prove their licensing status and keep that information current after approval.
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The revised standards took effect on August 26 and apply across online gambling jurisdictions, online non-casino games that require certification, and social casino games. New applicants must now use updated application forms, while the certification rules spell out more clearly what Google expects to find on websites, apps and regulatory records.
One of the more consequential changes sits outside the application form itself. Google now requires advertisers to recertify immediately when there is a material change to information previously submitted. An advertiser that fails to update its certification could face account suspension.
That turns certification into something closer to an ongoing compliance obligation rather than a hurdle cleared once before campaigns begin.
Licence Evidence Moves Up the Checklist
Applicants must hold a valid local licence for every region they intend to target and provide evidence of it.
Google is also seeking additional documentation where the connection between the advertiser and the licensed gambling business is not readily apparent. In those cases, applicants need to establish how the advertising entity, gambling operation and associated domain are related.
The requirement is particularly relevant to gambling businesses operating through multiple corporate entities, brands or marketing arrangements, where the company purchasing ads may not have the same name as the business appearing on a regulator’s licence.
Google is effectively asking applicants to make that chain visible before certification is granted.
Gambling Websites Face More Detailed Checks
The changes extend beyond licensing documents. Google has set out more specific requirements for the destinations users reach after clicking gambling advertisements.
Sites must prominently display an age warning, gambling addiction resources and terms and conditions. Their footers must identify the licensee and licence number, while a privacy policy must identify the relevant data controller.
Operators are required to publish their own licensing information, including their registered business name and licence number.
For some businesses, these requirements may turn what was largely an advertising compliance exercise into a website compliance exercise as well. A valid licence alone will not satisfy the certification standards if the required information is missing from the advertised destination.
Affiliates Become Part of the Licensing Chain
Affiliates and aggregators face a different test.
Where those businesses are not themselves required to hold a gambling licence, the advertised domain must link exclusively to gambling companies that are properly licensed and authorised in the geographic market being targeted.
The site footer must also prominently indicate that outbound links lead exclusively to gambling entities authorised for the relevant location.
The practical effect is to bring an affiliate’s outbound links into Google’s certification process. A comparison, review or promotional site cannot simply establish its own eligibility while directing users elsewhere without regard to the licensing status of those operators.
For affiliates covering multiple gambling markets, that could require closer control over which operators appear to visitors in each jurisdiction.
Mobile Apps Need a Two-Way Link
Online gambling and qualifying non-casino game operators seeking to promote mobile applications face another verification requirement.
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The licensed website must contain a prominent and functioning link to the application’s official listing on Apple’s App Store or Google Play. The app store landing page must then provide a direct link back to the registered domain.
That two-way connection gives Google another means of establishing that the website, licensed operation and mobile application submitted for certification belong to the same commercial operation.
One Country, One Application
The revised process also places firm boundaries around how certifications can be organised.
Advertisers seeking to target several countries cannot cover those markets through a single application. A separate certification application must be submitted for every individual country.
The account structure becomes more restrictive when advertisers cross gambling categories.
A single Google Ads account cannot simultaneously hold an online gambling certification and a social casino game certification. Businesses operating in both areas therefore need separate advertising accounts.
Social casino advertisers face an additional limitation. One account cannot hold certifications covering two different social casino targeting groups. Companies targeting separate groups or regions with different social casino certification requirements must split those activities between accounts.
For larger gambling groups running several brands, markets and gaming categories, the changes could require more than new paperwork. Existing Google Ads account structures may also need to be reconsidered.
Separate Routes for Gambling and Social Casino Applicants
Google continues to operate different application tracks under the new framework.
Operators, gambling-promoting businesses such as affiliates and aggregators, and qualifying non-casino gaming businesses must use the online gambling certification application. Social casino game operators have a separate application process.
Google is also telling applicants to check their regulatory records before submitting an application. Licensing credentials and operational details need to be current with the appropriate regulator, with discrepancies or incomplete information potentially delaying certification.
The revised application forms became mandatory for new applicants on August 26.
Material Changes Trigger Recertification
Perhaps the most significant ongoing obligation begins after approval.
Advertisers must recertify whenever there is a material change to information included in their original application. Google warns that failure to do so could lead to suspension.
The requirement means changes to the underlying information supporting certification cannot simply be dealt with internally while advertising continues under an old approval.
Certification also does not replace the advertiser’s wider regulatory responsibilities. Gambling businesses remain responsible for meeting local gambling laws, relevant industry standards and Google’s Gambling and games policy in every market where they advertise.
The August 26 changes make the connection between those obligations more explicit. A licence must not only exist. The advertiser has to demonstrate it, connect it to the entities and domains being advertised, display the required information on its destination and return for recertification when material details change.
For gambling businesses accustomed to treating Google approval as a one-off application exercise, that continuing obligation may prove to be the part of the new certification regime that matters most.
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