Adsense Has Added A Gambling Category

[faulkwood]

Received an email today stating the following:

Hello,

We're constantly reviewing the categories of ads available to our AdSense publishers in order to provide access to a wide range of possible advertisers. Towards this goal, beginning on September 27, we're expanding the inventory of Google ads eligible to show on the AdSense network to include gambling-related ads from trusted advertisers.

Please note that the AdSense program policies will continue to prohibit the placement of ads on sites that accept money or allow users to place bets in exchange for an opportunity to earn cash or other prizes, directly from the site. In addition, these new ads will only be shown to users in regions where gambling is legal, which is determined by the location of the end-user. A full list of these locations can be found at the following link: http://adwords.google.com/support/aw...&answer=176014. Finally, publishers may not opt in to receiving ads from this new category if their sites are intended for individuals under 18 years of age.

If you're interested in allowing gambling ads to appear on your site and you feel it's a fit with your content and audience, you can opt into this category within your AdSense account. As a reminder, you have control over the categories of ads that can appear on your site. You can always check your category filtering options and make changes by following <a href="http://www.google.com/adsense/support/as/bin/answer.py?answer=164131">these instructions</a>. Again, please keep in mind that by opting into the gambling category, you confirm that the site(s) on which you place your ad code aren't intended for individuals under 18 years old.

If you don't wish to receive gambling ads on your site, no action is required on your part. We recommend checking your category filter on a regular basis to see what new ad categories may become available.

We look forward to continuing to grow the ad inventory available to you to help you maximize your returns from AdSense.

Sincerely,

The Google AdSense Team

[baldidiot]

Just saw this on my email. I think it's great news, especially as I wanted to experiment with adsense on an instructional site! The cpc value must be pretty big (hopefully!).

[Anthony]

Glad to see this from Google, it is a move in the right direction.

Thanks for posting you email.

[bestbingowebsites]

Great, thanks for sharing - I wonder what the CPC is likely to be - the number of companies with gambling related adwords campaigns will be limited, as you need a gambling license to advertise, however, the companies that do have them likely have a lot of cash to pump into the campaigns and compete with the others especially with the broader search terms.

[DaveL]

Great, thanks for sharing - I wonder what the CPC is likely to be - the number of companies with gambling related adwords campaigns will be limited, as you need a gambling license to advertise, however, the companies that do have them likely have a lot of cash to pump into the campaigns and compete with the others especially with the broader search terms.

I bet the CPC is nowhere near as good as if you converted the player to the gaming site your self rather than via an AdSense block. I think for gaming sites to add AdSense is very short sighted. Then again, I hear some bingo sites are paying in excess of £10 a click, so there could be a bit of experimenting to be done.

[gamblingdomainer]

True, I believe if you are running a successful affiliate campaign, then you might not benefit that much from adsense. Yet, it is only to be seen what results are generated. Someone who tried it should share their experience.

[rak]

Got the same email.. I'm going to line up a couple of low price long tail keyword buys and see how it goes.

Anyone else jumping in?

Great, thanks for sharing - I wonder what the CPC is likely to be - the number of companies with gambling related adwords campaigns will be limited, as you need a gambling license to advertise, however, the companies that do have them likely have a lot of cash to pump into the campaigns and compete with the others especially with the broader search terms.

I believe this is how it has been in Australia for something, you can buy traffic via Google for a while on google.com.au, but you need to have an Australian Gambling license to be able to do it. Not sure if the recent Google announcement will change this for google.com.au

[baldidiot]

True, I believe if you are running a successful affiliate campaign, then you might not benefit that much from adsense. Yet, it is only to be seen what results are generated. Someone who tried it should share their experience.

I think the results could be comparable, provided the cpc is high enough. Of course you wont be getting the cpc of something like "online casino" which is in the £20+ range, but if you get a couple of £ per click it would definitely be interesting.

I have a site in the works that was on the back burner that would be ideal for this - I'll try to push up the schedule to see what kind of click values I get.

[faulkwood]

Unfortunately, when inquiring into it further, in order to be approved you have to qualify under these guidelines (which I don't think many of us will):

http://adwords.google.com/support/aw...&answer=176014

For example,
Google AdWords allows online wagering and sports betting advertisements to target Australia as long as the advertiser is a licensed operator registered with an appropriate Australian State or Territory and provides a valid license.

Google AdWords allows online gambling advertisements to target France as long as the advertiser is registered with ARJEL (Autorité de Régulation des Jeux En Ligne), provides a valid operating license number, operates on a ".fr" domain, and publishes a warning on the landing page and also any image ads against excessive or pathological gaming as well as a message referring to the help and information system as foreseen by the gambling laws. Please note that having a license from a country within the European Economic Area (EEA) other than France isn't sufficient authorization for showing online gambling ads in France.

Google AdWords allows online gambling advertisements to target Great Britain (England, Scotland, or Wales) as long as the advertiser is registered with the Gambling Commission and provides a valid operating license number. Alternatively, advertisers based in the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Alderney, Isle of Man, Gibraltar, Malta, Belgium, or Antigua and Barbuda who wish to target online gambling ads to Great Britain must be licensed to advertise online gambling in their respective country.

Oh well, still a move in the right direction though. Always something to good to be true

[baldidiot]

Unfortunately, when inquiring into it further, in order to be approved you have to qualify under these guidelines (which I don't think many of us will):

http://adwords.google.com/support/aw...&answer=176014

For example,
Google AdWords allows online wagering and sports betting advertisements to target Australia as long as the advertiser is a licensed operator registered with an appropriate Australian State or Territory and provides a valid license.

Google AdWords allows online gambling advertisements to target France as long as the advertiser is registered with ARJEL (Autorité de Régulation des Jeux En Ligne), provides a valid operating license number, operates on a ".fr" domain, and publishes a warning on the landing page and also any image ads against excessive or pathological gaming as well as a message referring to the help and information system as foreseen by the gambling laws. Please note that having a license from a country within the European Economic Area (EEA) other than France isn't sufficient authorization for showing online gambling ads in France.

Google AdWords allows online gambling advertisements to target Great Britain (England, Scotland, or Wales) as long as the advertiser is registered with the Gambling Commission and provides a valid operating license number. Alternatively, advertisers based in the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Alderney, Isle of Man, Gibraltar, Malta, Belgium, or Antigua and Barbuda who wish to target online gambling ads to Great Britain must be licensed to advertise online gambling in their respective country.

Oh well, still a move in the right direction though. Always something to good to be true

Those terms are for adwords, not adsense. And actually it isn't too hard to get a license to advertise on adwords - I have one and use adwords for some long tail terms and when doing keyword research.

To display adsense adverts on your site you just have to meet the conditions (ie: you don't offer real money gambling or link to any site which offers real money gambling) and then opt in to the gambling category.

[faulkwood]

I was thinking along the lines of being able to have your ads show up on others adsense sites, meaning you'd have to advertise on the adwords content network (right?) According to their instructions, you have to have an Adwords account for your gambling sites only. As for getting a license, how does one go about doing that? What do they need you to provide?

Those terms are for adwords, not adsense. And actually it isn't too hard to get a license to advertise on adwords - I have one and use adwords for some long tail terms and when doing keyword research.

To display adsense adverts on your site you just have to meet the conditions (ie: you don't offer real money gambling or link to any site which offers real money gambling) and then opt in to the gambling category.

[baldidiot]

I was thinking along the lines of being able to have your ads show up on others adsense sites, meaning you'd have to advertise on the adwords content network (right?) According to their instructions, you have to have an Adwords account for your gambling sites only. As for getting a license, how does one go about doing that? What do they need you to provide?

Gambling adverts have been allowed on adwords for search for some time in specific regions, so the change is that the adverts will now (optionally) show on the publisher network.

Getting a certificate is really simple, provided you meet certain conditions you just have to fill out a form. I have the link saved on my laptop - I'll dig it out later on tonight.

[baldidiot]

Here's the application form to target UK visitors, there are probably other versions for other countries but this is the only one I've used. There are only a couple of countries you can apply to promote. Note that it's a different form than the one used by actual online gambling products:

http://adwords.google.com/support/aw...topic=gambling

There are a few terms that you'll need to make sure you comply with before submitting - including linking to gambleaware.co.uk and not promoting "foreign" gambling products (as defined by the UK gambling act - eg: non white listed brands).

[GraceMcClendon]

I think it's great news

[muffmoney]

So they still won't let you show adsense on review sites?

[xecutable]

This seems like an yellow light, meaning 'Get Ready'. However I have tried ppc programs like AdBrite, Bidvertiser etc, and seems like gamblers don't fool around too much clicking, at least my traffic. Yeah there can be tons of clicks on your current affiliate banners, but that's not the case on different form of advertising.

From past experience, I've found out that people who get in on long-tail keywords have come for a very specific reason. Get the tips or previews or the reviews and get out. Very different from the wondering around reader of a blog site that is not sure what he is looking for, sees a pretty picture and clicks.

Adsense is quantity traffic depended, while the gambling industry is all about quality. No I am not making it up, we have all sort of traffic on a site that brings 11k visitors in 2 hours, all sorts of cheap clicks, but the earnings were about 200$ in those 2 hours. And I am just a writer there with 2-3 posts and 6 ad spots in total.

I am gonna guess that you would need similar traffic to get out of Adsense good money. And if you do have good traffic I doubt you will waste it on ppc! Why? Too many middle men, Google gets % you get a % who knows who else also gets a %.

Personally I could care less what Google and Adsense do, as I have been pretty frustrated with them lately. They have went to this whole "We can do whatever we want" attitude.

@GraceMcClendon If you are going to build posts, at least put some value to the thread.

[faulkwood]

From my understanding, review sites are OK. They will not allow it on the actual casino sites themselves.

So they still won't let you show adsense on review sites?

[baldidiot]

So they still won't let you show adsense on review sites?

If you're talking about reviews of casinos and you link to them, then you are correct - adsense is prohibited on any site which either offers gambling OR links to sites which offer gambling. Here are the terms direct from mr google:

AdSense publishers are not permitted to place Google ads on sites with gambling or casino-related content. In other words, if your site accepts money or allows users to place bets in exchange for an opportunity to earn cash or other prizes, then Google ads may not be placed on your site. Please note that this policy also prohibits the placement of Google ads on sites that link to online gambling sites, with the exception of Google ads in regions where online gambling is legal.

I think the final part about the google ads is a recent addition and refers to adsense ads on your site.

[universal4]

AdSense publishers are not permitted to place Google ads on sites with gambling or casino-related content.

In reality with that First line, they could dump anyone that used the ads on a review site even if they didn't link direct to the casinos.

Rick
Universal4

[baldidiot]

In reality with that First line, they could dump anyone that used the ads on a review site even if they didn't link direct to the casinos.

Rick
Universal4

It does sound a bit like that, but they seem to define gambling content a couple of times as a site which accepts wagers for real money. Here's the link: http://www.google.com/adsense/suppor...?answer=105958 (I should have included it in my last post, apologies!)

I asked them once if I could use adsense on a site that, for example, reported on poker news or provided users with instructions on how to play various casino games and the answer was that you could, provided you weren't linking to any online casinos, poker rooms etc...