Google will require gambling and games advertisers to meet the ‘good policy health’ standard from 14 September 2026, widening a rule it first introduced in March. Advertisers with a history of revoked certificates or repeated policy violations will be permanently shut out of the application process.
Certification shift
The extended checks now cover online gambling, social casino games, and skill-based titles that award a prize of value. Manager accounts that have lost multiple online gambling certificates, or that look after individual accounts repeatedly flagged for breaches, will no longer be able to seek new certifications and may have existing ones withdrawn.
Domain crackdown
Google has also reminded advertisers that gambling advertising domains must be directly owned and controlled by the applicant, with free-of-charge subdomains and websites lacking a clear gambling connection remaining off-limits. The clampdown comes as European regulators keep pressing platforms to choke off illegal operators that use search advertising to reach players, a practice that costs national budgets billions in lost tax revenue every year.
