Google has just delivered a major blow to the growing sweepstakes casino industry announcing a significant change to its advertising policies.

The tech giant will no longer allow these platforms to advertise under the banner of “socio casino games” on its Google Ads platform.

This policy update essentially reclassifies sweepstakes casinos, which use a dual-currency system, taking them out of the less-restricted “social gaming” category and placing them under stricter online gambling rules.

The move effectively prohibits them from buying ad space on Google.

A sweepstakes casino is a model where players can enjoy casino-style games for free using one currency (“Gold Coins”) but also participate in contests with a secondary currency (“Sweepstakes Coins” or “Sweeps Coins”) that can be exchanged for real money or prizes.

Many states and legal experts view this “redemption” model as a clever way to operate illegal gambling operations under the guise of legal sweepstakes.

The company updated its official Gambling and Games policy with a single defining line which now reads:

“Examples of games that are not social casino games: Sweepstake casinos.”

This decision follows increasing legal pressure and regulatory scrutiny across the United States, where several prominent sweepstakes operators face lawsuits and cease-and-desist orders.

Google is aligning its advertising rules with a growing consensus that these platforms offer a form of real-money gambling, not just harmless social play.

This classification means sweepstakes casinos are now ineligible for the easier Google Ads certification previously granted to social casino games that do not offer an opportunity to win “something of value.”