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Google Ad War Commences!

Those Americans among us are used to online slot machine and casino gambling sites not being shown when they look up terms like “online casino” on the Google search engine. Because of the strict advertising rules in place in the United States (as a side effect of the controversial Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act), internet gambling sites may not rank as among the search results in Google. From June of last year until about two weeks ago, neither could casinos in the United Kingdom. Now, that’s all changed.

Google has reopened the use of its Adwords to online slot game and gambling sites. Advertising standards are much more lenient overseas, and British casinos are even permitted to air commercials on TV and the radio – something that would be unimaginable domestically! The Google search terms have, almost overnight, become the newest currency in this publicity war. Now, through careful search engine optimization (SEO), these gambling sites can vie to appear as tops in such Google searches as “online casino,” “internet gambling,” and “online slots.”

We reported recently that the Smartlive online slot machine and gambling site was the first to be ranked on Google, after a lightening-fast application process. Betting firm Ladbrokes was not far behind.

As of tonight, perennially-popular British casino site 888.com was tops when we searched for “online casino” on the United Kingdom version of Google (www.google.co.uk). Will this gambling destination maintain its spot at the top? Only time will tell. One thing is sure, however – the development and operating teams behind these websites are sure spending a lot of money on making sure that they appear near the top!

Back to October 2008 Archive.