YouTube, the largest online video sharing platform in the world, has announced it will no longer feature gambling advertisements on its masthead. Any ads pertaining to politics, alcohol, elections and prescription drugs have also been banned.
The YouTube masthead is the digital billboard that appears on the social media platform’s homepage. It is estimated that having an advertisement on the masthead means businesses can reach up to 60 million people in one day.
Adverts for offline, online, social casino and non-casino games banned
The change to the regulations follows on from YouTube retiring all 24-hour ads on its masthead last year. Instead, the online video sharing platform is going to use its digital billboard to provide more tailored marketing content that can be purchased on a per-impression basis.
The masthead is easily the most prominent advertising placement available on YouTube’s entire platform. The news that gambling ads are banned from featuring on it comes as a significant blow to marketers in the industry.
Marketers will need to find alternative ways to increase outreach
In an email to all its advertisers, Google announced that these changes would be effective immediately. “Assets that depict or reference gambling-related content, including offline gambling, online gambling, online non-casino games, and social casino games,” will now be listed on YouTube’s prohibited category for its masthead ads.
A spokesperson added: “We believe this update will build on changes we made last year to the masthead reservation process and will lead to a better experience for users.” As such, marketers for the gambling industry will need to find alternative ways to increase their outreach.
