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Google has announced an update to its Gambling and Games advertising policy that takes effect on March 23, 2026, adding new certification requirements for advertisers seeking to run ads in gambling and games categories. Under the update, advertisers must demonstrate good policy health to remain eligible for certification.

The changes are expected to have particular impact across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), where Google’s regional Ads operations are run through its European branch. The update signals that Google will put greater weight on an advertiser’s compliance track record when evaluating certification applications and will be less forgiving when it identifies patterns of non-compliance.

Stricter certification eligibility and tougher consequences for repeat issues

From March 23, Google will more aggressively evaluate whether an applicant has maintained strong compliance standards. The official policy update states that all accounts seeking to advertise in gambling and games categories must demonstrate “good policy health”, and that the certification section of the Gambling and Games policy will be updated accordingly when the rules take effect.

A major enforcement lever is aimed at Manager Accounts (MCCs). Google says MCCs that have a significant volume of gambling certificates revoked among managed accounts or where many managed accounts violate the gambling policy while relying on a certificate can lose the ability to apply for new online gambling certificates and may also see existing certifications revoked.

Domain and hosting requirements: the spotlight on ownership and legitimacy

Google is also reiterating domain-related requirements already present in the certification process, emphasizing that certification is not available for sites hosted on free platforms, sites using subdomains whose root domain is a third-party host, sites with no association with gambling, or sites where the advertiser does not own and operate the second-level domain.

For iGaming operators and affiliates, the message is clear: certification is increasingly tied not only to licensing and policy compliance, but also to verifiable control of the brand’s web presence. In practice, advertisers with “problem history” inside linked account structures especially under MCC umbrellas should expect heightened scrutiny and a greater risk of certification denial or withdrawal under the tightened regime. 

Source: https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16786233