Google to expand gambling advertising in US and beyond

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Google has updated its gambling and games policy to permit operators to run adverts through its platform in Colombia, Kenya and Nigeria, as well expanding the range of US states in which allows betting operators to promote their services.

From this month, Google will allow adverts from operators licensed by the Kenya Betting Control Board, the Nigerian National Lottery Regulatory Commission and Colombian regulator Coljuegos.

The policy changes will also permit sports betting ads, as part of a limited beta test, in Indiana, Iowa, Montana, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island in the US. All of the named states are now running a regulated sports wagering market. Sports betting adverts are already allowed in the regulated states of Nevada, New Jersey and West Virginia.

Operators that want to run these adverts are first required to be certified by Google. This will permit them to promote online, real-money gambling such as online casinos or bookmakers, bingo or slots sites or apps, online lottery tickets and online sports betting.

Google certification will also enable operators to advertise sites that contain or link to content relating to online gambling. These include promotional products such as bonus codes, as well as educational materials like tutorials or e-books, software including poker odds calculators, other gambling-related information, and aggregator or affiliate sites that promote gambling-related content.

In terms of online non-casino games, Google permits the advertising of internet-based game where money or other items of value are paid or bet in exchange for the opportunity to win real money or prizes based on the outcome of the game. Examples of such games include fantasy sports, online chess tournaments and ‘match-three’ video games played for money or prizes.

Source: igamingbusiness.com