Fact Checked by 
Google Ads has emailed advertisers to warn that its Gambling & Games certification rules will be tightened up in the near future.
In an email seemingly sent to advertisers, shared by Google ads professional Adriaan Decker, Google Ads is planning stricter rules from March 23 for those running ads within the ‘Gambling & Games’ category.
“As of 23 March 2026, the Google Ads Gambling and games policy will introduce additional certification eligibility requirements,” the email states. “Applicants for gambling certifications must now demonstrate good policy health to advertise in any gambling and games category.”
Specifically, advertising certification will not be granted if the site is hosted on a free platform, if it uses a subdomain of a third-party platform, if the advertiser doesn’t own and operate the second-level domain, and/or if the site has no real association with gambling.
These new rules will be enforced by Google Ads, with a warning that there will be consequences for repeated violations: “Manager accounts (MCCs) and their managed accounts that face repeated gambling certificate revocations or violations will no longer be eligible for online gambling certificates, and current certifications may be revoked.”
The bigger picture at Google Ads
In simple terms, the new changes in place from March 23 mean that one-off compliance won’t be enough for advertisers to run gambling promotions. Instead, the tech giant will be taking wider account history and domain ownership into account when it comes to gambling ad eligibility and certification.
This comes after Google Ads updated its policy back in November, taking aim then at the promotion of offline gambling is prohibited in locations where it is illegal to advertise offline gambling. Before that, Google also changed how it classified sweepstakes casino games, which are no longer considered social games. However, earlier this month, the tech giant shared that starting January 21, 2026, some prediction markets will be allowed to advertise in the US.
Featured image: Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0
