A decision that has been expected for perhaps too long by gambling companies in the UK has been finally announced last week: Google UK opened its network to allow gambling ads to run online in the UK.

It took Google four years to modify its ads policy and lift up the barrier for gambling ads on its worldwide collection of websites since both Google and Yahoo! banned online casino ads in 2004 claiming a “lack of clarity” on its regulations. This move seemed as a natural step to be made by the company since casino, poker and sports betting, among other types of gambling is legal in the UK.

This decision might have been influenced by the fact that other search engines such as MSN and Yahoo started accepting gambling ads, so it was just a matter of short time that Google joined the measure, as it was finally announced last week. Obviously this was a strategic move for Google, who does not want to miss its piece of the gambling ads cake.

This is great news for all gambling operators from the UK who were anxiously expecting for this announcement to be made, since online advertising has been positioning itself as an excellent way to target a specific type of market. From now on, the companies of the Gambling industry who want to reach the large internet audience with their ads will be able to do so for consumers from England, Scotland and Wales through Google AdWords.