Google updates personalized gambling ad rules for YouTube

Google updated its personalized advertising policy for gambling on YouTube in the US, the UK and Canada on October 30, with prediction market operators now falling under sensitive-category targeting rules.

Under the revised policy, gambling advertisers in those markets can now run campaigns using audiences predefined by Google, which are grouped by interests, demographics and location and are designed to leave out sensitive user signals, although the company has not detailed which specific targeting options changed. Advertisers are still barred from building their own audience lists for gambling campaigns and from using health information related to gambling, while users under 18 cannot be shown personalized ads at all.

Being covered by the new targeting rules does not automatically allow prediction markets to advertise on YouTube, as Google’s dedicated policy for the sector still applies. That policy limits ads to the US, minus Connecticut, Michigan, Nevada, New York and Ohio, so the UK and Canada remain off limits, and only CFTC-authorized exchanges and NFA-authorized brokerages holding the relevant financial, commodity and gaming licenses qualify.

It is the latest in a series of changes to Google’s gambling ad rules this year. Since October 21, certified online gambling advertisers have been able to use the YouTube Masthead, the reserved placement at the top of the homepage that was previously open only to sports betting, and on September 14 Google extended its “good policy health” checks, first applied in selected markets in March, to every category under its Gambling and Games Policy.