Google has removed more than 270 million gambling and gaming advertisements in 2025 as part of a wider global crackdown on policy violations, according to its latest Ads Safety Report. The enforcement comes as regulators across multiple regions intensify scrutiny of illegal online betting promotion.
Overall, Google said it removed more than 8.3 billion ads across all categories during the year, highlighting the scale of enforcement activity across its advertising ecosystem.
Gambling Among Top Restricted Ad Categories
The report shows gambling and gaming ranked as the eighth-largest category of blocked advertisements, with 270.7 million ads removed. In addition, 123.9 million gambling-related ads were classified under restricted categories, placing the sector among the most heavily monitored advertising verticals.
Google also stated that over 99% of policy-violating ads were prevented from being shown to users, largely through expanded use of artificial intelligence-based detection systems.
AI Systems Strengthen Ad Enforcement
Keerat Sharma, Vice President and General Manager of Ads Privacy and Safety at Google, said the company has significantly enhanced its enforcement capabilities through AI tools, including its Gemini system.
He explained that the models now analyse vast behavioural and technical signals such as account age, campaign patterns, and user activity to detect and block malicious or non-compliant advertising more effectively.
According to Sharma, the shift from keyword-based detection to intent-based systems has improved Google’s ability to identify evasive or misleading gambling-related content before it reaches users.
Large-Scale Account and Content Removal
Google reported that it suspended 24.9 million advertiser accounts in 2025, including around 4 million linked to scam activity. It also removed more than 602 million scam-related ads and took enforcement action on over 480 million web pages.
Within publisher content, gambling and gaming pages accounted for approximately 9.7 million policy violations, making the sector one of the most frequently flagged categories.
Rising Regulatory Pressure Across Markets
The enforcement push comes amid increasing global regulatory scrutiny of digital gambling advertising. In Brazil, authorities have requested clarification from Google and Apple over the availability of unlicensed betting apps on their platforms, while European regulators are preparing stricter advertising compliance rules from 2026 onward.
Governments in multiple regions have also raised concerns about influencer-driven gambling promotion and the role of digital platforms in enabling access to unlicensed operators.
Google Tightens Compliance While Reducing False Flags
Despite stricter enforcement, Google said it has improved its reporting and review systems, acting on user complaints more than four times as often as in the previous year. At the same time, it reported an 80% reduction in incorrect advertiser suspensions, aiming to balance stronger enforcement with reduced disruption for legitimate businesses.
