Google blocks rummy and fantasy sports ads in India after legal crackdown

Google announced on January 7, 2026, that it will prohibit advertisements for rummy and daily fantasy sports targeting India through its advertising platform. According to the company's Gambling and games policy update, the restriction takes effect on January 21, 2026, providing advertisers with a two-week transition period to adjust campaigns.

The policy change represents a complete reversal from Google's previous approach. The company had permitted daily fantasy sports advertising in India when advertisers met certification requirements and held appropriate licenses. That framework now collapses under what Google describes as necessary compliance "with local legal requirements."

"Our updated policy will disallow all Rummy and Daily Fantasy Sports promotions targeting India," according to the official policy announcement posted January 7, 2026. The statement offers no additional context about which specific legal requirements prompted the prohibition or whether regulatory guidance influenced the decision.

India's relationship with online gaming and gambling has undergone substantial shifts throughout 2024 and 2025. Multiple state governments implemented bans on specific game categories, while courts issued conflicting interpretations of whether skill-based games qualify as gambling under existing legislation. The regulatory uncertainty created operational challenges for gaming platforms and advertising intermediaries attempting to maintain compliance across jurisdictions.

Previous certification framework eliminated

Google's earlier policy permitted daily fantasy sports advertising in India through a certification process that required advertisers to demonstrate licensing compliance. The Gambling and games policy historically listed India among countries where advertisers could promote "online non-casino games" including fantasy sports, subject to country-specific certification requirements.

Social casino games faced similar restrictions in India, with Google requiring certification for advertisers promoting simulated gambling-style games. The certification framework created a gating mechanism intended to ensure only properly licensed operators accessed advertising inventory in markets with complex or evolving regulatory environments.

The January 2026 update eliminates these certification pathways entirely for rummy and daily fantasy sports. No licensing documentation or regulatory approval will permit these game categories to advertise through Google Ads when targeting Indian users, regardless of whether advertisers hold valid licenses from state governments that permit such activities.

Immediate implementation without transition period

The announcement-to-enforcement timeline provides 14 days for advertisers to modify campaigns. This compressed schedule differs from Google's typical approach for major policy changes affecting substantial advertising categories. The company frequently provides 30 to 60 days between policy announcements and enforcement dates to allow advertisers time to adjust targeting, creative assets, and compliance documentation.

The truncated timeline suggests urgency driven by regulatory pressure or legal guidance that necessitated rapid policy implementation. Google's statement citing compliance with "local legal requirements" without specifying those requirements indicates the company may face legal restrictions preventing detailed disclosure of the regulatory basis for the prohibition.

Advertisers with active campaigns promoting rummy or daily fantasy sports to Indian audiences must pause or retarget those campaigns by January 21, 2026. Failure to comply will result in ad disapprovals and potential account-level penalties, according to Google's standard enforcement procedures for gambling policy violations.

Broader implications for gaming industry

The prohibition affects operators across multiple business models. Daily fantasy sports platforms like Dream11, which commanded substantial market share in India, lose access to Google's advertising inventory for user acquisition and retention campaigns. Rummy platforms including RummyCircle and Junglee Rummy face similar restrictions, eliminating a major performance marketing channel.

Gaming companies relied heavily on paid search and display advertising to acquire users in India's competitive market. Google's advertising platform provided precise targeting capabilities and measurement tools that enabled efficient customer acquisition at scale. The removal of this channel forces operators to redirect marketing budgets toward alternative platforms or traditional media channels with different performance characteristics.

The policy applies regardless of whether games involve real money or operate on free-to-play models with optional purchases. Google's prohibition encompasses "all Rummy and Daily Fantasy Sports promotions" without distinguishing between different monetization approaches or game mechanics that might affect regulatory classification.

Industry context and regulatory environment

India's online gaming sector attracted significant investment throughout the early 2020s, with daily fantasy sports and rummy platforms raising hundreds of millions of dollars from venture capital and private equity firms. The regulatory environment remained ambiguous, with central government policies conflicting with state-level legislation in several jurisdictions.

The Karnataka High Court in 2023 struck down state legislation banning online gaming involving stakes, creating temporary regulatory relief for operators. Other state governments, including Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, maintained prohibitions on specific game categories while permitting others. The fragmented regulatory landscape complicated compliance efforts for platforms operating nationally.

Central government intervention in 2024 introduced new frameworks for online gaming regulation, but implementation details remained unclear through much of 2025. Google's policy change suggests the regulatory environment has reached sufficient clarity that the company concluded it could no longer permit these advertising categories without legal risk.

Technical enforcement mechanisms

Google's advertising platform implements geo-targeting restrictions at multiple levels. Advertisers can target specific countries, regions within countries, or radius-based geographic areas. The January 21, 2026, policy update affects any campaign with India included in its geographic targeting settings, regardless of whether advertisers also target other countries.

The policy documentation does not address whether advertisers can promote rummy or daily fantasy sports to Indian users who are physically located outside India at the time of ad delivery. Google's systems typically deliver ads based on users' current locations rather than citizenship or account registration addresses, suggesting the prohibition may not apply to Indian citizens traveling internationally.

Account-level certification requirements that previously enabled daily fantasy sports advertising will become invalid for India-targeted campaigns. Advertisers holding certifications for other markets can continue using those certifications for permitted jurisdictions, but must exclude India from their targeting to maintain compliance.

Comparison with other markets

Google maintains different gambling advertising policies across markets based on local regulations. The United States permits daily fantasy sports advertising in most states, with Google requiring certification and state-specific licensing documentation. Canada permits daily fantasy sports advertising with similar certification requirements. The United Kingdom allows fantasy sports advertising under its comprehensive gambling regulatory framework administered by the Gambling Commission.

India joins a small group of markets where Google prohibits gambling-related advertising categories that remain permitted elsewhere. The policy documents list specific game categories as prohibited in certain countries while permitted in others, reflecting the company's approach to navigating inconsistent global regulatory frameworks.

The prohibition extends beyond Google Ads to encompass all Google advertising products. Display & Video 360 users must comply with the same restrictions when targeting India. Authorized Buyers using programmatic advertising channels to purchase Google inventory face identical prohibitions on rummy and daily fantasy sports content targeting Indian audiences.

Enforcement and penalties

Google considers gambling policy violations serious infractions that can result in account suspension. According to the Gambling and games policy documentation, "we take violations of this category very seriously and consider them egregious." The company implements immediate account suspension upon detection of certain gambling policy violations "without prior warning."

Advertisers who continue running rummy or daily fantasy sports campaigns targeting India after January 21, 2026, risk permanent account suspension. Google's enforcement systems combine automated detection with manual review to identify policy violations. Machine learning models analyze ad creative, landing pages, and account history to flag potential gambling policy violations.

The policy states that serving gambling ads without valid certification "may result in your account being prohibited from running ads until you apply for and receive certification." Since the January 2026 update eliminates certification pathways for rummy and daily fantasy sports in India, advertisers cannot remedy violations through certification applications.

Alternative advertising channels

Gaming companies affected by the policy will likely redirect advertising spending toward social media platforms, influencer marketing, and content partnerships. Meta's advertising policies for India permit certain gaming categories under different frameworks than Google's approach. TikTok and Instagram, despite their own content restrictions, may absorb some displaced advertising budgets.

Traditional media channels including television, print, and outdoor advertising face less restrictive regulatory frameworks for gaming content in some Indian states. However, these channels lack the precise targeting and real-time optimization capabilities that made performance marketing through Google Ads effective for customer acquisition.

App store optimization and organic search traffic acquisition become more critical as paid search opportunities disappear. Gaming platforms must invest in content marketing, SEO, and community building to maintain user acquisition volumes without access to Google's paid advertising inventory.

Timeline

• 2023: Karnataka High Court strikes down state ban on online gaming with stakes
• 2024: Central government introduces new frameworks for online gaming regulation
• April 30, 2025: Google permits sports betting ads on Google TV Masthead in United States
• August 15, 2025: Google begins accepting sports betting ads in Missouri
• October 16, 2025: Google expands gambling advertising policy to three Nigerian states
• November 13, 2025: Google permits sports betting ads on TV Masthead in UK and Brazil
• January 7, 2026: Google announces prohibition on rummy and daily fantasy sports advertising targeting India
• January 21, 2026: Policy enforcement begins for rummy and daily fantasy sports prohibition in India

Summary

Who: Google announced the policy change affecting rummy and daily fantasy sports operators, gaming platforms, and advertisers seeking to promote these games to Indian audiences through the Google Ads platform.

What: Google will prohibit all advertisements for rummy and daily fantasy sports that target India, eliminating previously available certification pathways that permitted licensed operators to advertise these game categories through the platform's advertising products.

When: Google announced the policy on January 7, 2026, with enforcement beginning January 21, 2026, providing advertisers with a 14-day transition period to adjust campaign targeting and pause affected advertisements.

Where: The prohibition applies specifically to India, affecting any Google Ads campaigns with geographic targeting that includes Indian audiences regardless of whether advertisers also target other countries where these game categories remain permitted.

Why: Google cited the need to "ensure compliance with local legal requirements" as the reason for the prohibition, though the announcement did not specify which legal requirements or regulatory guidance prompted the policy change in India's complex gaming regulatory environment.