Google has updated its cryptocurrency advertising policy to allow for blockchain-based nonfungible token (NFT) gaming advertisements as long as they don’t promote gambling or gambling services.
According to a blog post from Google, the new changes will go into effect starting Sept. 15 and will be restricted only to games that meet specific criteria:
“NFT games that allow players to purchase in-game items, like virtual apparel for a player’s characters, weaponry, or armor with better stats, consumed or used in a game to enhance a user’s experience or aid users in advancing the game.”
The new policy will continue to ban advertisements for games allowing players to wager or stake NFTs against other players or for rewards, including cryptocurrencies and other nonfungible tokens. NFT casino games and any other social betting paradigm that allows players to wager or play for real-world prizes — such as NFTs, cash or cryptocurrency — will also continue to be banned.
To run ads that promote gambling-related content that integrates NFTs, developers and publishers must “comply with the Gambling and games policy and receive the proper Google Ads certification.”
As Cointelegraph reported in March 2018, Google previously banned all cryptocurrency-related advertising across its platforms. It did not indicate whether the ban would be permanent or reviewable at a later date.
Related: Google updates service policies to comply with EU regulations
Scott Spencer, the director of sustainable ads at Google at the time, stated that the company had “seen enough consumer harm or potential for consumer harm” that it would continue to approach cryptocurrency-related ads with “extreme caution.”
In June 2021, Google softened the ban to allow some companies creating “cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets targeting the United States” to advertise on the platform, provided the companies were registered with the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network as a money services business or a federal or state-chartered bank entity.
