Google reverses online gambling ad ban in the U.K.
16 October 2008Google has amended its ban against online gambling advertisements to allow ads that target U.K. users.
The world's largest search engine will accept ads from both registered U.K. companies and other advertisers based in the European Economic Area (EEA), according to the Guardian.
Users from outside the U.K. will not be able to see the ads. And the ads will only be visible to users who have turned of their "safe search" filter.
The EEA is comprised of the 27 European Union member states and Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey.
Google's new policy complies with 2005 Gambling Act, which went into effect in the U.K. last year. The Act restricted online gambling advertising to sites located within the EEA. Google had implemented a global ban on gambling ads in 2004.