Google Ads will allow some advertisers to apply for certification for the category of online gambling. This started this month, October 2026, and will gradually be available to some advertisers in Google Ads.
Google wrote, "In October 2026, Google will gradually introduce the ability for some advertisers to apply for the following certifications in their Google Ads account: Online gambling."
Google said the certification "feature will be released incrementally to all advertisers over a period of time, and not all advertisers and certification applications will be affected immediately."
Those advertisers who are affected by this will have the option to either continue to apply for certifications via the Google Ads Help Center or their Google Ads account in 'Admin' under a new 'Policy > Account' section.
Google also noted that "existing certifications that an advertiser holds and pending applications will not be affected by this incremental launch."
I currently see no changes to the Apply to advertise certain products & services using Google Ads help document related to this news. Although, online gambling and online gambling-promoting content and certain online non-casino games are listed in the document for a while now.
Here is a screenshot of the news post:
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