Google adds gambling to revenue search

Google is allowing gambling advertisements in its search results in Britain – for the first time anywhere in the world since a self-imposed moratorium in 2004.

Industry experts say the search engine, which welcomed the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh to its London offices yesterday, could generate more than £100m in revenues from rule changes, which come into effect today. The business commands a 70 per cent share of the paid search advertising market in the UK.

Google has been reviewing its gambling advertising policy “to ensure it is as consistent as possible with local business practices”, said James Cashmore, industry leader, entertainment and media, at the company. “We hope this change will enhance the search experience for users and help advertisers connect with interested consumers.”

Google banned gambling advertisements when the US Congress cracked down on the industry in 2004.

Online gambling companies welcomed the lifting of the ban, which follows the UK Gambling Act’s removal of prohibitions on television advertising of casino and bingo gaming, which came into force in September 2007.

“We rely a lot on advertising as our shop window,” said Clive Hawkswood, the chief executive of the Remote Gambling Association, whose members include Ladbrokes, PartyGaming, 888 and other online gaming sites. “Our products are online so the marketing will be using Google a fair bit.”

According to figures from Nielsen, the market research group, casino, lottery and bookmakers are collectively the third largest advertisers in online display ads,both by number of campaigns and share of spending.

“The fact they are third behind mobile phone operators and automotive manufacturers shows they are spending a lot of money on online advertising,” said Alex Burmaster, European internet analyst at Nielsen. “Perhaps Google are going to hit the jackpot.”

Another Advert banned by ASA

In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a television advertisement from Alderney-licensed online poker room PKR.com because it glamorised the risks involved in gambling.

The advert featured computer generated players competing in a virtual poker room. It starts with attention focused on a well-dressed man and a voice-over stating ‘I’ve come in over the top of pot-sized raises with middle pair, bluffed under the gun with four runners behind me, folded pocket Kings on a hunch, I’ve survived bad beats, sick draws and cold decks’.

The dapper player then laughs as he pushes a big stack of chips into the middle of the table with the voice-over proceeding ‘and I’ve played through fields of thousands to make the final table. Here I come’.

PKR.com stated that the voice-over spoke in an even and balanced tone and did not refer to cash stakes or winnings. It stated that this, therefore, gave a realistic depiction of the opportunities involved in gambling and did not give the impression that it is financially beneficial to play on its site. It also stated that the site also offered play for fun opportunities as well for real money.

In its ruling, the ASA accepted that the advertisement used poker terminology and understood that the phrases used referred to winning as well as losing. However, it found that the commercial gave the impression that it was acceptable to take risks on a hunch and implied that poker could be played in a reckless way. The regulatory body also noted that the lead character was laughing as he pushed in his chips and found that the advertisement could be seen as glamorising the risks involved with gambling, making it irresponsible.

ASA has been cracking the whip on online adverts very frequently. In May it banned an ad by William Hills Online Bingo.