Google Ads will gradually let some advertisers apply for online gambling certification directly inside their Google Ads account, Search Engine Roundtable reported on October 16, citing Google’s own announcement. 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.”
The feature is rolling out incrementally, and Google says not all advertisers or certification applications will be affected immediately. Advertisers who get the new route can apply either through the Google Ads Help Center as before, or inside their account under Admin, in a new “Policy > Account” section. Existing certifications and pending applications are not affected by the launch. Roundtable noted it could not yet see changes in the “Apply to advertise certain products & services using Google Ads” help document, where online gambling, gambling-promoting content and certain online non-casino games have long been listed as restricted categories requiring certification.
Why it matters: certification is the gate between a restricted category and any ad spend at all, so moving the application into the account removes a slow, external step for gambling advertisers who operate legally in their markets. It is an administrative change, not a policy loosening — what may be advertised, and where, is unchanged. The move fits Google’s wider pattern of pulling advertiser workflows into the account itself, from the controls in Google Ads Adds Channel Prioritization And Budget Allocation Controls to the opt-ins in Google Ads Automated Promotions Are Live.
Source: Search Engine Roundtable, October 16, 2026, quoting Google’s Ads certification announcement.
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