Lynnae is a journalist covering the intersection of technology, culture, and gambling. She has more than five years of experience as a writer and editor, with bylines at SlashGear and MakeUseOf. On the iGaming side,...
Read Full BioGoogle will allow prediction markets in the United States to advertise through Google Ads starting January 21, 2026, the company announced on Monday. The updated policy limits eligibility to federally regulated prediction market platforms such as Kalshi and other operators that have been authorized to operate within the U.S.
According to the new guidance published in Google’s Advertising Policies Help Center, the company will approve ads for prediction markets, which it defines as platforms that “facilitate the listing of or provide customer access to Exchange-Listed Event Contracts related to economics, sports, or current events,” as long as they meet specific criteria: namely, operating in the U.S. and obtaining certification from Google before running the ads.
The policy provides prediction markets with a formal pathway for advertising across Google, where, prior to the announcement, no defined framework existed. However, the update doesn’t open the floodgates to any and every prediction market seeking access to its ad inventory. Instead, prediction markets must meet strict federal regulatory requirements to receive approval from Google.
Because Google Ads reach users through search, YouTube, and its third-party partner websites, the new rules could help raise the profile of prediction markets even more as they seek to connect with potential users in the U.S. market.
Who Qualifies to Advertise Under Google’s New Rules
Google’s updated policy places strict limits on which prediction market platforms are eligible to advertise to U.S. users, grouping them into two categories.
The first group includes platforms authorized by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as Designated Contract Markets (DCM), “whose primary business must be the listing of Exchange-Listed Event Contracts.” The second group includes brokerages authorized by the National Futures Association that “offer third-party access to products listed by a DCM that meets the criteria specified above.”
Prediction markets that want to advertise on Google must comply with local laws, financial regulations, industry standards, and all other applicable Google Ads policies. The company also requires certification for each target location. However, the U.S. is currently the only approved location listed for advertising prediction markets.
Google directs prediction markets to ensure they comply with local laws, saying “advertisers are expected to do their own research on the local regulations for any location their ads target and comply with these.”
The policy makes clear what is and isn’t allowed on Google Ads. Advertising for binary options and fixed-return contracts is still prohibited, as well as “markets concerning games of chance or lotteries, or any activity legally defined as gambling within relevant jurisdictions and not permitted as a regulated Prediction Market under local law.” Informational sites, affiliate content, and trading signal services related to prediction markets are also off limits.
Policy Meshes With Recent Gambling Ad Changes
The prediction markets update follows a busy 2025, during which Google implemented a series of policy changes that limited the ways in which gambling-related products could be promoted on its platforms.
In the past year, the company has revised its Gambling and Games advertising policies to close loopholes some operators used as workarounds to avoid being classified as gambling products. As part of that effort, Google clarified its definition of what constitutes gambling and restricted advertising for social casino and sweepstakes-based models. For example, the company reclassified sweepstakes casinos as gambling under its rules, taking away their ability to advertise as social casino games.
While Google hasn’t publicly explained the reasoning behind these moves, they seem to be part of an effort to ensure its advertising practices align more closely with regulatory standards and trends in the U.S. Even as prediction markets face heightened regulatory scrutiny and ongoing legal challenges in the U.S., Google’s new prediction market policy appears to follow a similar pattern, granting access only to products that fall within established federal oversight frameworks.
