ReferenceGoogle Ads disapproval
Gambling certificate required
This disapproval means a gambling ad is running without the Google certificate the policy requires. Apply for certification for each country through the Google Ads Help Center form, one application per country. A certificate covers only the website submitted, and free platforms and unrelated hosts cannot be certified. Until the certificate exists, the ad will not run.
At a glance
- Where it shows
- The Status column on the Ads & assets page, as Disapproved under this policy.
- What stops
- The ad does not run until it is certified.
- How serious
- Higher than a warning. Running without valid certification can stop the account from running ads until it is certified.
- How long
- Google says most reviews take about one business day.
What it means
Google requires certification before an advertiser runs gambling or gambling-promoting ads. The certificate is separate for each country, and for each website submitted. It does not cover the advertiser's other websites.
One account cannot hold both an online gambling certificate and a social casino certificate, or certificates for two different social casino targeting groups. Material changes to the application information need recertification. Google's page lists two sibling messages with different fixes: URL does not match gambling certificate, when the ad links to a site other than the certified one, and Gambling ad targets a restricted country, when the campaign targets a country where that kind of ad is not permitted.
What actually triggers it
No certificate on the account for gambling content
Google says this message means the advertiser lacks the needed certification. An ad that promotes gambling, or content that promotes gambling, is caught even when the business sees it as a side offer.
A country added without its own application
Each country needs its own application, and a certificate for one country does not cover another. Check the campaign's location settings against the certificates held before applying again.
A website on a free platform or an unrelated host
Certification is not available for sites on free platforms, or for subdomains of third-party hosts that are unrelated to gambling.
Application details that have changed
A material change to the application information needs recertification. A certificate applied for under old details does not cover the new ones.
Fix it in this order
- Open Ads & assets from the Campaigns menu, and confirm which countries and which website the disapproved ad targets and links to.
- Apply for certification in the Google Ads Help Center, using the online gambling or social casino form, with one application for each country.
- Edit the location targeting so it includes only certified countries, or point the final URL to the certified site.
- Resubmit the campaign for review if the option appears. Otherwise, edit and save the ad to request a new review.
Google says most reviews take about one business day. The result shows in the Status column.
When to appeal
Appeal only when the certificate exists and the ad still shows the message. Name the certificate in the appeal, and say which country it covers. Google says to appeal from the account.
If the ad links to a site the certificate does not cover, an appeal will not help. Certify that site or change the URL first.
Often confused with
The rules that a certificate attests to. This page is the message for a missing certificate, while that one is the country-by-country rule set behind it.
Also certified and location limited, but under its own licensed-provider rules and a separate application for each location.