Google Cracks Down on Online Gambling Promotions in Croatia
Google is making significant changes to its advertising policy for Croatia, specifically targeting online gambling-promoting content. From October 7th, all promotion of such content will be disallowed, and existing certifications for advertisers will be revoked. The policy update aims to restrict the promotion of online gambling activities, in line with national laws.
The new policy affects only aggregator or affiliate sites that provide information about or comparisons of other gambling services. These sites are required to hold a licence in the targeted country and cannot offer gambling themselves or link to their own services. This means that comparison and information sites working in Croatia will lose paid search and display from October 7th, leaving them with organic search and direct traffic.
Operators advertising their own products remain unaffected by this policy change. The update follows a wider tightening at the platform level, which has restricted certification for accounts with repeated violations or revoked certificates. Google's 'good policy health' standard aims to ensure compliance with national and international regulations.