This week, YouTube announced changes to its policies on videos that promote online gambling. The changes come into effect March 18 and will apply an age limit to all gambling content, while banning certain types of videos that directly entice players to visit gambling sites. In many ways, they resemble the policies adopted by other video content platforms, like the streaming service Twitch.
Per an update released Monday, videos depicting online casinos or other types of gambling sites will be age-restricted.
YouTube’s age restrictions prevent users from seeing videos unless they’re logged in and have confirmed their age to be 18 and up. In the US, the minimum age to participate in gambling depends on the product and the state. However, for commercial casino gaming, it is usually 21 and up, and that includes all legal online casinos.
The new policies also prohibit outright any videos that direct the viewer to a gambling site unless the site is certified as an advertiser by Google, which owns YouTube.
Which types of gambling sites can be certified by Google is likewise something that varies by jurisdiction. Broadly speaking, however, it excludes unregulated operators in regions that require licensing for real-money gambling.
The announcement, signed by “Rob from Team YouTube,” ends on an apologetic note, acknowledging that the changes will hurt some content creators.
We know this update may impact creators who focus on online gambling content like casino games and applications, but we believe these changes are a necessary step in protecting our community, especially younger viewers. YouTube is committed to supporting creators while ensuring a safe and responsible platform for everyone.
Growing restrictions on gambling content
Gambling itself is tightly restricted in most parts of the world. However, content about gambling has, until recently, tended to get treated more leniently. That was particularly true for online content platforms, which are often a bit of a free-for-all in other ways as well.
However, the explosion of legal gambling and “gambling-adjacent” products in the US has produced considerable backlash. At first, most of that was directed at the onslaught of televised sportsbook ads that swept screens around the nation following the repeal of the federal prohibition on sports betting. Some lawmakers have even called for a complete ban or heavy restrictions on such ads. However, the pushback on regulated betting ads has also drawn increased attention to other forms of gambling content. Google, Meta, and Apple have faced accusations of facilitating illegal gambling, leading to a series of policy changes like this week’s at YouTube.
Outside of YouTube, video game streaming services are the primary platform for gambling content. Twitch, the leader in that space, adjusted its policies in 2022, leading to an exodus of streamers whose streams focused on unregulated gambling or other types of borderline content. Many of those ended up at Kick, a rival service with ties to the cryptocasino Stake.
Like YouTube, Twitch allows streams that highlight legal gambling options. However, its most recent policy update made those streams invisible to logged-out users in order to enforce a minimum age. The new YouTube restrictions echo that approach.
In both cases, the creators offering those videos and streams are likely to suffer some collateral damage, losing viewership from fans who are of the required age but can’t be bothered to log in.
Possible impact on sweepstakes casinos
The actual impact of the policies won’t be known until the changes come into effect in two weeks’ time. However, a surface reading suggests that videos directing views to sweepstakes casino sites will be among those that find themselves on the wrong side of the policies.
Almost any reference to a particular site qualifies, including:
- Verbal references during the video
- On-screen logos, URLs or site names
- Links embedded in images or text
The only sites excepted from this are those that have been certified by Google.
Getting that certification means passing a review to ensure compliance with local laws. Sweepstakes casinos are legal under US federal law because they are, effectively, play money social casinos with an added sweepstakes. However, Google’s advertising policies make special reference to social casinos and explicitly exclude those that offer sweepstakes prizes.
Google recently allowed social casinos to begin offering targeted ads, which may be why it is taking a cautious approach when it comes to sweeps. The American Gaming Association, which represents the real-money gambling industry in the US, began campaigning against the sweeps industry last year. There are now several active pieces of legislation aiming to address the issue. Most of these take the form of bans—including a new bill in New York this week. However, New Jersey is considering regulating them as real-money gambling sites, while one Hawaii lawmaker wants to see a state-operated one as a way to attract tourists. Sweeps sites operating under those latter bills would presumably pass Google’s test for certification, as they’d be operating with explicit approval.
About the Author
