Gambling addiction worries may again restrict search engines

In the summer of 2007 Google put in place quite stringent restrictions on the use of gambling ads for internet casinos and other gambling service providers. However by the autumn of 2008 Google had rethought these restrictions and relaxed their ban. When the ban was put in place Google came in for some quite harsh opposition from the gambling industry, internet casinos and betting fraternity who felt that Google as a search engine had no rights to restrict personal access to such information and advertisements, and many commentators felt that this was a knee jerk reaction to bad press.

However MPs are now calling for the restrictions to be implemented once more, stating that the relaxation of their policy was ‘irresponsible’. This is a result of the concerns raised by the Church of England that "As people are facing more financial uncertainty, the fantasy of instant wealth could become particularly attractive and the consequences of losses correspondingly serious".

It was Ladbrokes sporting bookmaker that first took advantage of the ability to advertise internet casinos and gambling services once more in England, Wales and Scotland via the search engine Google, in October of last year. It was reported at the time that Google had allowed a relaxation of the ban, to gain a more dominant position in the search engine market, taking a stronger position against rivals such as Yahoo and MSN. The strategic move was expected to benefit Google to the tune of £300,000,000 or more with vast amounts of traffic using Google in preference to the competitors.

It remains to be seen if now that the Church of England and MPs are calling for more stringent restrictions be restored at Google whether the current advertising will continue. However we at Casino Hideout believe that if there is the ability to advertise on television and other media then surely search engines should be no different.