iGaming Ads on Google and Meta: Certification, Countries, Separate Accounts

Meta's rule reaches further than that table can show. It covers a landing page that merely contains promotions for online gambling, "even if there is no opportunity to gamble or game directly on that page". Google closes a different door, because certification isn't available for sites on free platforms or on a subdomain of a third-party host, so a rented subdomain doesn't get you started.

Google's rule is written the strict way around. Gambling types are allowed only in the countries listed, and "online gambling of any type not listed under 'Online gambling' for a particular country is not eligible for certification and may not be advertised". The country table had about 60 entries when we read it. A sample of how different they are:

A casino operator looking at Italy on Google finds one product type open, and it isn't theirs.

If you target allowed and disallowed countries in one campaign, Google labels the ad "Eligible (limited)" and it runs only where it's allowed. If you target only disallowed countries, it's "Disapproved". Check that status after launch, because a limited ad can look like a delivery problem.

Meta works the other way around. It publishes unsupported markets, 19 of them: Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Everywhere else, you need to show that you're licensed or lawful in that territory, and you declare your intent before you target a new jurisdiction for the first time.

If someone told you Google wants one account per country, the policy we read doesn't say that. It has two rules on accounts.

• No mixed certification types. "A single Google Ads account cannot hold both an online gambling certification and a social casino game certification simultaneously."
• No mixed social casino groups. One account can't hold certifications for two social casino targeting groups. Group 1 covers markets such as the US, UK, Germany and Brazil. Group 2 covers Hong Kong, India, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Countries are handled by applications, one form per country. Accounts are separated by type of activity. If you run a licensed sportsbook and a social casino app, that's two accounts. If you run a sportsbook in five licensed countries, the policy asks for five applications.

There's a third rule that agency buyers should read twice, because it sits above the account:

If your Manager Account has had a significant volume of gambling or games certificates revoked from accounts under its management, or if significant volumes of accounts under your management are found to have violated the gambling policy while relying on a gambling certificate, you will lose the ability to apply for any certificate under our Gambling and games policy for any account under your management.

If you're running on a provider's Manager Account, its history is part of your risk. Ask how it handles gambling certificates, and who else is on that Manager Account. The 12 questions to ask a provider are a good place to add that one.

Meta makes you pick. In the application you select whether you're an "Operator, Aggregator, Affiliate (i.e. Partner) or Agent", and an agent selects on whose behalf it's applying. The business name must match the license or lawful documentation.

Google draws the same lines through documents. If the relationship between advertiser and licensee is unclear, you submit documentation showing how the advertising entity, the gambling entity and the domain connect. Affiliates face three limits:

1. Only aggregator or affiliate sites that give information about, or compare, gambling services count as allowed gambling-promoting content.
2. The site "must not offer gambling services themselves or link to gambling services they own".
3. It must link only to entities licensed in the targeted region, and the footer must say so prominently.

Gambling-promoting content also has to be listed for that country, otherwise it can't be advertised there. In the US it can only target specific states, as set out in the certification form.

Snapchat is stricter still on who fills in the form, and we cover that below.

Google spells this out. Destination sites must prominently display:

• An age warning
• Addiction resources
• Terms and conditions
• A footer with the licensee name, license number and a privacy policy identifying the data controller

Operators state their own license details. Affiliates put their outbound link statement in the footer. Apps need a prominent, working link to the official store listing on the licensed domain, and the store page has to link back. All gambling ads need responsible gambling information on the landing page.

A few formats are closed whatever your paperwork says. Google lists Gmail ads, Shopping ads, Reservation display ads and Google TV and YouTube masthead ads among those that can't promote gambling. If your plan leans on Performance Max style breadth, check what's actually serving.

Google writes the consequences plainly here. Running gambling ads without a valid certification "may result in your account being prohibited from running ads until you apply for and receive certification". Submitting false information, or relying on a certification to advertise products it doesn't cover, results in suspension, and then "any related accounts may also be permanently suspended and your new accounts may be automatically suspended at setup". Social casino is treated harder: Google says it suspends accounts upon detection and without prior warning.

Certificates also need upkeep. You must keep the license valid, tell Google immediately if it expires or is suspended, and recertify after any material change. Meta's authorization is likewise contingent on an active gambling license, and it can ask for your documents at any time.

So plan for the bad day. Bans happen in iGaming, also to clean operators, and opening a fresh account right after a suspension is exactly what that "related accounts" sentence describes. We've written up what a ban does to your balance and what to do in the first hour.

The Snapchat line that catches agencies: "The form must be submitted directly by the advertiser to Snap. Snap does not accept submissions from other third parties, such as agencies." So that step stays with you, whoever runs the account.

No. Both Google and Meta put that on you. Google tells advertisers to check local regulations, and Meta says it "is not responsible for how authorized ad accounts comply with local gambling laws and regulations".

Italy shows how far apart the two can be. Article 9 of Decree-Law 87/2018 bans any form of advertising, even indirect, for games or bets with cash winnings and for gambling, on any medium, and it names digital channels and social media. The fine is 20% of the value of the advertising, at least 50,000 euros per violation, and it reaches the client, the owner of the medium or site, and the organizer. In October 2026 the Constitutional Court softened only that floor, in judgment 172. A lower amount is now possible where 50,000 euros would be manifestly disproportionate, and the ban itself stands. The article excludes national lotteries with deferred drawing, which is the one online product Google lists for Italy. Meta doesn't list Italy as unsupported, and the law applies all the same.

We're not your lawyers. Treat this page as a list of what to ask them.

The license and the paperwork stay yours. A provider can organize the application, keep the account structure clean and tell you early when a country or product has no route.

On our side, send us your license, your domains, your target countries and whether you're an operator or an affiliate. We check that before you pay, and we tell you if the combination doesn't work. Our regulated iGaming page covers how we set it up. One of the checks in Adtucon Certified, our own programme and not something the platforms issue, is that vertical approvals are in order, and that's the check that matters most here.

On Google and Meta, your rate depends on vertical and volume. One message in chat gets you the number. If you're starting with Google, our guide to Google agency accounts explains what the account itself is. Running social casino or sweeps rather than real money? The rules are different, and our sweepstakes guide picks that up. For the wider pattern, see why some niches get more scrutiny.