Google has officially rolled out a major update to its Gambling and Games Policy, taking effect from 14 September 2026 across all markets worldwide.
Advertisers were first alerted to the upcoming changes back in June, giving businesses several months to prepare for the stricter certification requirements.
The policy builds on earlier reforms introduced in March 2026, when Google first began demanding that advertisers in selected gambling markets prove a strong compliance record before earning certification.
That compliance requirement has now been broadened significantly, applying to every single category covered under the Gambling and Games Policy framework.
Google stated directly in the policy update: “Starting September 14, 2026, all gambling and games advertisers must demonstrate good policy health.”
Beyond compliance history, the certification expansion also requires businesses to own their domains outright, with the use of free subdomains now disqualifying advertisers from eligibility.
Google has also deepened its oversight of Manager Accounts, commonly referred to as MCCs, which are agencies or third-party businesses that manage multiple advertiser accounts simultaneously.
These MCC-related requirements are unconditional, meaning no exceptions will be made for agencies operating in the gambling and games advertising space regardless of their size or history.
The tightened rules arrive in the wake of a notable legal defeat for Google in July, when the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled against the company in a case involving gambling content on YouTube.
The CJEU determined that Google could not automatically rely on intermediary liability protections for gambling content that commercial partners had uploaded to the platform.
The case stemmed from a €750,000 fine handed down by Italy’s AGCOM, the country’s communications regulator, over YouTube videos that promoted online gambling in violation of Italian law.
Those videos were found to breach Italy’s Dignity Decree, the federal legislation introduced in 2019 that prohibits gambling advertising and sponsorship across Italian media channels.
The combination of the CJEU ruling and the September policy update signals that Google is adopting a markedly more cautious and controlled approach to gambling advertising across its entire platform ecosystem.
For operators and agencies active in the iGaming space, ensuring full compliance with Google’s updated certification standards will be essential to maintaining access to one of the world’s largest digital advertising networks.
