YouTube's New Policy on Online Gambling Content

YouTube has announced that it will soon prohibit creators from verbally referring to gambling services not approved by Google, as well as displaying their logos and linking to them in videos. The new rules, which go into effect on March 19th, may also put age restrictions on videos about online gambling.

This means that viewers under 18, or anyone not signed into YouTube, won’t be able to watch these videos. However, YouTube notes that this rule excludes videos showing online sports betting and people gambling in person.

Additionally, YouTube may remove content “promising guaranteed returns,” whether or not the gambling service in question has been approved by Google. The company believes these changes are a necessary step in protecting its community, especially younger viewers.

This move is part of a larger effort by YouTube to regulate online gambling content. The company previously banned gambling ads for its masthead ad slot in 2021, while Twitch began restricting streams that show gambling sites with slots, roulette, or dice games in 2022.

Google also announced last month that it will start testing a machine learning model to estimate a user’s age, allowing its platforms, including YouTube, to provide “age-appropriate experiences.”