Gambling Ads On Google

26th April 2007

AdWords editors have a “strict” policy against advertising any gambling sites. Yet, every time one searches on Google for any keywords related to gambling (e.g. online casinos, poker etc.) one is sure to see a good many sponsored links from the who’s who of the gambling world.

The no-gambling policy costs Google a lot of money in terms of unrealised ad revenue, in addition to wasted editorial time repeatedly trying to track down and stop offenders. The policy makes sense in countries like the USA where online gambling is illegal, but in the UK and the rest of the world where gambling is not outlawed, surely stockholder pressure will sooner or later dictate wisdom other than their current holier than thou attitude towards gambling?

Tags: ad, advertising, gambling, google, google-adwords, ppc

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Gambling Ads On Google - Then v Now | Search Daily News : 14 June 2007 at 10:23 am

[...] The old system was far from perfect, as explained in the previous article about gambling ads on Google. Google have tried to plug this loophole in their system now, by banning all advertisements related to gambling altogether. This means that even genuinely free sites can no longer advertise for any gambling related keywords. This ban even extends to bingo, play-for-fun and lottery (except official state lottery) sites. [...]
Internet Content Censorship In Europe | Search Daily News : 13 August 2007 at 5:23 pm

[...] While none of the subjects being censored deserve a place on the Internet, censorship is rarely the best way to deal with the problem. Just like prohibition does not stop people from gambling or drinking alcohol, trying to censor content online will not stop it from appearing. Instead, the deviant minds that choose to bring such content will just find ways to work round the censors. [...]

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