Google changes the rules of gambling advertising

On 14 April 2025, Google will introduce new requirements for advertising gambling-related content. From now on, any content that mentions gambling will be considered gambling advertising, which imposes significant restrictions on the ability to promote relevant products online. These changes are global. Thus, the industry is undergoing major changes, and it is important to understand what the new conditions will be and whether they will be equal for all market players. This will determine how fair the competition will be and whether legal organisers will be able to gain competitive advantages over illegal operators, including lottery operators.

Google has updated the rules of gambling advertising through its Ads platform, which is currently the world's largest online advertising service. According to the innovations, any content with a reference to gambling will now be considered advertising and therefore subject to relevant regulatory restrictions in those jurisdictions where such advertising is displayed. Accordingly, all companies that will advertise their gambling services must have the appropriate licences and certificates in force in these jurisdictions.

For violation of the rules, the company's Google Ads account will be blocked. Accordingly, all ads will be stopped and new ones will not be accepted, which means hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses and a significant decrease in the effectiveness of service promotion. Therefore, Google advises gambling-related advertisers to carefully review their advertising strategies and adapt them to the new rules.

What can this mean for Ukrainian legal gambling?

Offline gambling advertising in Ukraine will remain banned as before. In particular, Google will continue to prohibit the advertising of "traditional" gambling and land-based casinos, which means that offline businesses will not be able to use digital platforms for advertising. At the same time, advertising of products related to online gambling and lottery products will not be prohibited.

On the one hand, this provides certain advantages for online gambling organisers, as they can not only legally advertise their activities but also have access to a huge audience of potential customers. This is not a bad thing, as it will allow legal businesses to develop. However, on the other hand, it creates favourable conditions for lottery players who, unfortunately, prefer illegal methods of operation.

Lottery operators also work without proper licences and pay minimal taxes compared to licensed gambling businesses. Moreover, they simulate gambling on their platforms without the appropriate licences, which creates big problems for legal organisers who pay hundreds of millions in licence fees to be able to do business. In addition, lottery operators do not support such important initiatives as, for example, assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in times of war.

At the same time, Ukrainian licensed gambling organisers are facing the problem of blocking advertising of their services in Google Ads. Against this backdrop, Ukrainian Gambling Council addressed to the management of the corporation with a request to stop blocking advertising of licensed Ukrainian organisers, as it does not comply with the current legislation. It also harms business and leads to losses for the state budget. Such actions help illegal gambling organisers, including lotteries, to promote their services and avoid any responsibility.

As a result of these appeals, a dialogue with Google has been initiated, which will hopefully lead to the launch of a process to change its advertising policy in relation to Ukraine. It is also clear that since Google is a major international player, it will take a long time to adapt its internal policies. However, only in this case will it be possible to ensure equality for all market players and support for those who work legally, pay taxes and contribute to the Ukrainian economy.