Ban on Sports Betting Ads in Florida by Google Ads

A judge in Florida has ruled that sports betting ads and services will no longer be allowed. Despite the existence of these ads in the past, Google is not in full support of advertising for gambling activities. As a company, it has responsible dealings in its advertising arm, and it respects state and national gambling laws.

Currently, sports betting companies, including online casino Canada sites, are waiting on a court decision. It is a decision about amended legislation that provides the Seminole Tribe exclusive rights to sports betting in the state.

Judge Dabney Friedrich, the US District Judge for the District of Columbia, has ruled that the Florida Gaming Compact violates the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act or IGRA. He explained that the violation is primarily because it is promoting gaming outside the boundaries of the tribal property.

At this moment, 15 casinos in Florida generate taxes to the sweet tune of $1.5 billion. However, they cannot operate a remote or online gambling facility. They cannot get a license.

The court decision is not yet final, and what happens to the online sports betting industry in the state is not clear. The consensus of experts is that the resolution will stay on pending status. There needs to be a resolution of appeal for it to move on.

If the court rules or issues a “stay,” then the Tribe could continue their business and take sports betting wagers once again. There may be some litigation that would ensure, but these cases will take many years to resolve. While the litigation is going on, gambling businesses will take bets.

What are the rules?

Gambling commercials must abide by many rules. Some of the are:

With Google banning ads, it means that viewers will also no longer see gambling ads in Gmail or search engines. The same rule applies to shopping and other forms of display ads. If an advertiser does not follow these rules, it is likely that Google will disapprove of any of their Chrome extensions. Google will also disapprove of the ad, and it will not run until the advertiser meets these conditions.

Those who violate these rules more than once can face account suspension. Google has no standard ruling for this but suffice it to say that they have the power to close an advertiser’s account if they are repeat offenders. Google will terminate all ads that violate these rules. They may also close the accounts. If the advertiser attempts to create a new account, Google will know and also close it.

Why was Google quick to act?

Google was quick to react, and many pundits say that the company only wanted to comply with the law. Currently, online gambling is seeping across the USA. Several states relaxed their gambling laws, permitting online casinos and sports betting sites to operate.

Google recognizes this as an opportunity for business. Gambling operators spend a ton of money on ads, and Google can expect ad revenues by the millions.

However, there is a problem. As people have learned in Europe, gambling results in a change in legislation. The normalization of gambling eventually results in a variety of problems. As such, lawmakers push back and make reforms.

The reforms in the law are often about who should see the ads. They do not want children to see the ads. Alongside kids, they do not want problem gamblers to see any gambling ads. Ultimately, Google and other advertising networks do not have a large market to serve.

Google, for one, cannot flood their universe with gambling ads because children may see them. Since displaying ads for gambling to children are illegal, it opens a whole gamut of problems.

Although online gambling is legal for players in Florida, it is not legal to put up an operating facility. It is also illegal to advertise for any online gambling site. As of now, the state is holding to its ruling about the Seminole Tribe pact. However, the future is vague.

Being on the right side of the law is crucial to Google. The last thing they want is to serve gambling ads and then pay for lawsuits later on. Apart from the legal ramifications of serving gambling ads, there is also the financial aspect of it. They could be serving a small market, and then it does not become financially viable anymore.

If Google does not ban gambling ads, they may find themselves paying fines. Eventually, there might be a crackdown against gambling ads. If this happens, Google will be in trouble.

For now, Google is on the right track. They have to sit it out. They must wait until a final verdict is available about the Seminole pact, and then they can decide what route to take as far as online gambling ads are concerned.