In welcome news for the gaming industry, technology and communications giant Google has announced it will remove its ban on sports-betting ads by the first quarter of 2020.
Though online gambling became legal in New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware in 2013, Google continued to ban online casino ads. In May 2018, when the Supreme Court ruled that individual states could legalize sports betting, Google decided to change its policy on sports betting ads.
Google launched a limited beta program in June that allowed sports-betting ads in Nevada, New Jersey, and West Virginia, then opened the doors in Indiana, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Montana. Google announced that it will also allow Colombia, Kenya and Nigeria to post ads.
Approved operators are now free to create promotional material that can be featured in Google Ads, Google Display Network, YouTube, and AdMob. But no gambling-related ads will be allowed through Google Ad Manager, the company announced. All advertisements must be sports-betting related, and cannot include casino games or anything deemed to target underage gamblers.
