Will Google's new gambling ad rules push more bettors online?
Gambling operators are in for more changes when dealing with Google as the tech giant has again amended policies that will betting and casino efforts offline, and this time it may prove beneficial for their online equivalents.
Google is consistently adapting to an evolving landscape in the betting and gambling space while changing its policies to remain current. The company recently reclassified sweeps, adding more restrictions to sweepstakes platforms and enforcing rules on them equitable to those faced by real-money gambling operators. The effects of those changes are already being seen, as sweeps operators look to either rebrand or redirect their efforts.
Google is now introducing even more change to the industry, and this time, it may mean a potential loss of customers of offline platforms that could push more players towards online betting.
What changes is Google introducing to gambling ad rules?
Google is again updating its betting and gambling guidelines, this time focusing on permitted offline gambling advertising activity and expanding the list of countries where offline gambling advertising is prohibited. The platform elaborated that “legal physical, real-world gambling activity or establishments” are still allowed, making clear that its latest changes specifically target regions where those activities and establishments are not allowed yet might still be advertised.
In short, the promotion of offline gambling in regions where it is illegal will not be supported. These changes took effect in late November and are now being fully enforced by the search giant.
Google is continuously changing how gambling operators can advertise their businesses.
Google has listed 35 countries that are affected by the changes. The full list of countries in which offline gambling advertising is now prohibited includes the following:
- Afghanistan
- Algeria
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Bhutan
- Bulgaria
- China
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Estonia
- Hong Kong
- India
- Indonesia
- Iraq
- Italy
- Jordan
- Korea
- Kuwait
- Lebanon
- Libya
- Lithuania
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Morocco
- Northern Ireland
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palestine
- Philippines
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Singapore
- Sudan
- Syria
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- Vietnam
- Yemen
Some reports have suggested that the list is to be expanded further and may soon prohibit offline gambling advertising in 42 countries. But this remains unconfirmed by Google, with the official listing still only including the countries listed above.
These strict advertising restrictions may significantly impact those platforms that rely heavily on traditional digital advertising through Google Ads. This can lead to a significant drop in ad reach, which in turn can result in a potentially large loss of new customer acquisition. While this may prove to be a loss for offline betting platforms, online betting sites may actually stand to benefit. In some regions, online operators could now have advertising options not available to their offline brethren. And even without such opportunities, if player are left bereft of offline betting opportunities, they’re that much more likely to seek those opportunities out online.
Google has made multiple changes to its gambling policies this year, including the aforementioned shift in reclassifying sweeps from social gaming to traditional, real-money gambling and attaching to it the associated restrictions on advertising.
Casino streamers have also been affected, as they’ve lost their ability to advertise prohibited gambling sites on YouTube. These changes serve to better protect Google and YouTube from potential legal liabilities, but they may also serve to further benefit registered online betting operators that operate within regional laws.
Feature image credit: Canva
Khizar Mundia has been playing video games for as long as he can recall. Things have come a long way since the many days he spent playing the original NES, though. He now covers a variety of competitive games and esports, as well as the world of streaming, ranging from Twitch to Kick. If it’s of interest to gamers, it’s of interest to Khizar.
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