Google expands personalized gambling ads on YouTube across three markets

Google has expanded the circumstances in which eligible gambling advertisers can use personalized advertising on YouTube in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. The change took effect on October 30, 2026, allowing certain approved advertisers to tailor campaigns using permitted audience signals. Existing requirements for certification, licensing, responsible advertising and underage-user protection remain in place.

The update applies to YouTube inventory. It is not a general relaxation of gambling advertising rules across every Google service. Eligibility continues to depend on the product, target market and advertiser compliance with Google policies and local law.

What the YouTube policy change means

Personalized advertising allows businesses to tailor campaigns using permitted signals such as interests, demographic information and location. Under the revised approach, certain gambling ads can use personalized advertising on YouTube in the three named markets.

Google still classifies gambling as a sensitive interest category. The definition includes online and offline gambling, gambling-related information, non-casino games played for money or prizes and online casino games, whether or not money is exchanged. Prediction markets are also included for personalized advertising purposes.

The change does not provide unrestricted access to user data or every targeting tool. It permits selected audience options while retaining controls on the use of sensitive personal information.

Restrictions on audience selection remain

Google distinguishes between its predefined audiences and groups assembled by advertisers. Its policy states: “You can't use advertiser-curated audiences.” The restriction reflects the risk that advertiser-created groups could contain or reveal sensitive information about users.

Gambling advertisers cannot use Customer Match, their own data segments, audience expansion or lookalike segments for this type of personalized advertising. Google does allow certain predefined audiences designed to exclude sensitive user signals. These can include in-market and affinity audiences, selected demographic and life-event categories, location targeting and certain custom segments.

The availability of each option remains subject to Google's conditions. Custom segments linked to sensitive advertising material or landing pages may face additional limits. Google's personalized advertising policy also prohibits the use of gambling-related health information for personalized targeting.

Users under 18 are not eligible for personalized advertising of any kind, including ads served through Google's predefined audiences. Advertisers must also comply with any higher minimum-age requirements and other restrictions imposed by local law.

Certification and responsible advertising obligations continue

Google's wider Gambling and games policy continues to require certification where applicable. Gambling ads and their landing pages must target approved locations, display responsible gambling information and avoid targeting minors. Operators must hold the licences or authorisations required for the product and jurisdiction.

Access to personalized YouTube advertising is therefore not automatic. A campaign may use an eligible audience setting but still be rejected if the advertiser lacks certification, the product is not permitted in the market or the landing page does not meet Google's requirements. Advertisers remain responsible for complying with local gambling and advertising laws.

Prediction markets remain subject to separate rules

Prediction markets are included in Google's sensitive interest category for personalized advertising. Ads for prediction-market contracts and related products are also governed by a separate policy.

Under the current Prediction Markets policy, approved advertising locations are limited to the United States. Campaigns cannot target Connecticut, Michigan, Nevada, New York or Ohio. Connecticut joined the exclusion list under a change effective October 7, 2026. The UK and Canada are not on the approved-location list for prediction-market advertising.

Google requires eligible providers to hold all applicable local financial, commodity and/or gaming licences and to receive its certification and approval. In the US, qualifying advertisers include a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-authorised Designated Contract Market primarily listing exchange-listed event contracts or a National Futures Association-authorised brokerage providing third-party access to products listed by a qualifying exchange.

Google's policy says advertisers must hold “all applicable local financial, commodity and/or gaming licenses”. These conditions are separate from those for other gambling products. Permission to use personalized YouTube advertising does not, by itself, make a prediction-market operator eligible to advertise.

Broader certification requirements have also changed

From September 14, 2026, accounts seeking certification in any category covered by Google's Gambling and games policy must demonstrate good policy health. Manager accounts with repeated certificate revocations or repeated gambling-policy violations involving certified accounts may lose the ability to apply for new online gambling certificates. Existing certifications may also be revoked.

Google has reiterated that websites hosted on free subdomains are ineligible, the domain must be directly owned and controlled by the business and standalone domains unrelated to gambling do not qualify.

A separate notice for an August 2026 rollout concerned the gradual introduction of in-account certification applications for social casino games. That notice addressed the application process. The wider policy-health and domain requirements were announced separately and took effect in September.

What advertisers should review

Before launching campaigns, operators should check the product classification, target locations and certification status. They should also review landing pages, responsible gambling information and age safeguards to ensure they meet Google's policy and relevant local law.

Advertisers should not assume that approval for one product category covers another or that permission to use personalized targeting overrides location-based restrictions. Where a campaign covers multiple products or markets, each relevant certification and location requirement should be assessed separately.

Conclusion

Google's October 30 update creates additional opportunities for eligible gambling advertisers to personalize campaigns on YouTube in the US, UK and Canada. The change remains limited: gambling is still a sensitive interest category, advertiser-curated audiences remain prohibited and under-18 users remain excluded from personalized advertising.

The separate treatment of prediction markets and the wider certification requirements show that Google has adjusted one part of its advertising framework rather than removed its compliance safeguards. Advertisers will need to match each campaign to the correct product category, audience rules and approved locations before launch. The result is a broader set of options for qualifying businesses, alongside continuing obligations to protect users and follow local regulation.

FAQs

When did Google expand personalized gambling ads on YouTube?
The policy change took effect on October 30, 2026. It allows certain eligible gambling advertisers to use personalized advertising on YouTube in the US, UK and Canada.

Does the update allow all gambling companies to advertise on YouTube?
No. Advertisers must continue to meet Google's certification requirements, hold the necessary licences and comply with the rules applicable to their products and target markets.

Can gambling advertisers use their own customer lists for targeting?
No. Advertiser-curated audiences, including Customer Match and advertisers' own data segments, remain restricted for gambling-related personalized advertising.

Which audience targeting options remain available?
Certain predefined Google audiences can be used. These include eligible in-market and affinity audiences, demographic options, life-event categories and location targeting, subject to Google's conditions.

Can gambling advertisers target users under 18?
No. Users under 18 are not eligible for personalized advertising on Google. Gambling advertisers must also follow any higher age restrictions required by local laws.

Does Google allow targeting based on gambling-related health information?
No. Google prohibits using health information related to gambling to personalize advertisements.

Are prediction-market advertisements covered by the new policy?
Prediction markets are included in Google's sensitive interest category for personalized advertising. However, advertisements for prediction-market contracts remain subject to a separate policy and additional certification conditions.

Which US states are excluded from prediction-market advertising?
The current list excludes Connecticut, Michigan, Nevada, New York and Ohio. Connecticut was added to the list effective October 7, 2026.

What licences do prediction-market advertisers need?
Google requires eligible providers to hold applicable local financial, commodity and/or gaming licences. US advertisers must also meet the relevant CFTC or NFA authorisation criteria and obtain Google's approval.

Did Google's August 2026 update introduce new global gambling certification rules?
The August notice concerned a gradual change to the application process for social casino game certification. Separate certification eligibility and domain requirements took effect on September 14, 2026.