Google Bars Prediction Market Ads In Five US States
Google Ads no longer allows prediction market advertising in five US states. The company's prediction markets policy now approves targeting only for the United States, excluding Connecticut, Michigan, Nevada, New York, and Ohio. Connecticut was the latest addition, with a change-log notice saying the prohibition took effect on October 7, 2026.
Elsewhere in the country, ads are still allowed, but only for advertisers that hold Google certification and meet strict regulatory criteria. Our prediction markets hub tracks the platforms involved.
How The List Grew
Google first opened its ads system to federally regulated prediction markets on January 21, 2026, in a policy it announced on January 5. Since then, it has added states one at a time. Google's changelog shows Ohio was prohibited from June 2, 2026, and Michigan and New York from July 13, 2026. Connecticut followed on October 7.
Nevada is also on the excluded list. The change-log notices give no reason for the state additions. On the legal side, the Ninth Circuit has backed Nevada's gambling law against Kalshi.
Who Can Advertise Elsewhere
In the approved US locations, Google requires the advertiser to be certified. It must also be one of two types of businesses. The first is a Designated Contract Market authorized by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission whose primary business is listing exchange-traded event contracts, such as economic or sports outcomes, that differ from those offered by sportsbooks.
The second is a brokerage authorized by the National Futures Association to offer third-party access to products listed by such a market.
Advertisers must hold all applicable local financial, commodity, and gaming licenses and comply with local laws and other Google Ads policies. Applications are separate for each location an advertiser wants to target, so a certificate for one state does not carry over to another.
What The Policy Still Prohibits
The policy also lists content that leads to disapproval. This covers binary options and fixed-return contracts, markets on games of chance or anything legally defined as gambling that is not permitted as a regulated prediction market, and informational sites or blogs that provide trading signals. Google lists affiliate sites with related content or broker reviews as examples of that last category.
Google says it expects advertisers to research local rules for any location they target. Anyone running prediction market campaigns can check the policy page before launching in a new state.
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