Gambling Advertisements – Why You Hardly See Them Online

Tweet

Out of all the ads featured on Google Word Ads that show advertisements based on browser preference and user history, the ones that do not pop up are related to gambling. Despite Google displaying a wide variety of ads for food, services, and products, there are almost no ads for online casinos or sports betting. Why is that?

 

According to Google’s Privacy Policy, online casinos offering real cash prizes or real money platforms ranging from gambling games to sports betting cannot be displayed in the United States. Casino retailers in Las Vegas on the other hand can promote their facilities and events using a title that features the name of their casino but cannot do so in a way that features text offering real money options. The reason being is that gambling is not legal in all states and therefore ads pertaining to such a field go against guidelines that aim to avoid promoting gambling as set by the US government. The last thing Google wants to do is get into legal trouble with the Government and hence it complies with local laws.

 

In Australia and Canada where online gambling is legal, Google does not prevent online advertising of casino vendors such as Royal Vegas from appearing. These casinos comply with international regulations for being used in these two nations, and the local laws in both countries neither forbid locals from participating in or viewing gambling both onshore and online. The catch in Australia though is that locals cannot create or promote gambling brands set up in the nation as that is illegal, so if anyone is trying to promote their ads not only would this be against the law in AU but would also be against Google policy.

 

Due to the variety of laws between the US, Canada and Australia – the three largest online gambling hubs in the world – most casino vendors do not advertise online at all. In fact, aside from major sporting events where you see advertisements for Bet365 there are almost no ads to be seen in person. In the UK, which is another major gambling hub that allows for online casino playing and where many online gambling platforms are located, we see more on billboards and locally in pubs but online casinos nevertheless push their brands out of fear for being sued both by local governments or the national government, as even the UK differs in its stance to which extent it allows for online casinos to appear in the public.

 

Canadians therefore do not find their online casinos through Google Ads nor do they even find them through social media platforms. Instead, casinos allow for players to come naturally by targeting and competing for various keyword terms that might capture audiences. Casinos also typically have generous affiliate programs that offer upwards of 30% revenue share and high CPAs in order to prompt affiliate marketers and gambling enthusiasts to promote their services and games while essentially acting as the main marketing platform and liaison.

 

A Change of Strategy

 

Online casinos, however, face saturation in the market. There are over 300 online casinos established across the globe and that number is continuing to rise. With the incoming flux of new mobile devices and related software, the industry is only seeing an increase of competition that is not expected to back down anytime soon. App developers are allowing for a new stream of ads that do not comply with Google Word Ads and are in a league of their own. At the very least, casinos should cooperate to have sponsored content on games they feel would attract similar visitors to their sites and make use of an opportunity to expand their market rather than relying solely on affiliates. Internet marketers are subject to penalization from Google’s algorithm and their entire platform that directs traffics to these sites can be taken away in a heartbeat.

 

Lastly, casinos should have more partner sites and do so with reputable brands that are big among consumers but yet offer an indirect platform for promoting their games. This will help casinos establish more brand awareness and bring value to platforms as well while also jumping through loopholes associated with Google’s algorithm.