Google’s updated Gambling and Games certification rules are now active, and for gambling affiliates this is more than another boring compliance memo. The new framework puts much more weight on “good policy health,” which means old account habits and weak domain setups matter more than before. Google also makes it clear that certification is not available for free-hosted sites, unrelated domains, third-party root subdomains, or second-level domains the advertiser does not own and operate.  

The part media buyers should care about most is MCC exposure. Google says manager accounts with a significant number of revoked gambling certificates or policy-breaching managed accounts can lose the ability to apply for new certificates, while existing certifications can also be revoked. In plain traffic terms, this means one sloppy structure can poison a wider setup. Search gambling traffic is still alive, but the days of thin accounts, weak domains, and lazy compliance are getting shorter.