What the relaxation of Google’s prohibitions implies for online casinos in Nigeria is not yet clear.
The worldwide gaming market continues to develop with each passing year, and the African continent is one of the regions that is seeing substantial growth in the gambling industry. Nigeria is first on the list of Africa’s fastest-growing gambling markets in terms of revenue growth.
The West African country is known for having the largest economy in Africa, according to some estimates. The gaming business has made a positive contribution to the economy, as it produced more than $60 million in revenue in 2018. Gambling in Nigeria is now governed by the Criminal Code Act and the Gaming Machines Act of 1997, both of which were passed in 1997. Gambling companies in Nigeria are always seeking for methods to expand their player databases, since a larger market share translates into greater gross gaming profits for them. In order to keep ahead of the competition in the Nigerian gaming market, gaming websites with a Nigerian audience are always striving to promote and market their brand aggressively in order to establish themselves as leaders in the industry.
Nigerian operators are hampered by a Google Ad restriction.
A firm position against the gambling business had been adopted by digital search giant Google, which had implemented severe laws that barred gaming operators in Nigeria from utilizing Google advertising to sell and promote their gaming websites. Gaming operators have shifted their emphasis to other forms of advertising and marketing in recent years, and they have done relatively well despite the fact that major platforms such as Google have barred any promoting gaming operations in Nigeria in recent years.
Google has taken a firm position against casino advertising in Nigeria due to a lack of local legislation governing advertising and marketing in the country. A major concern for Google was the possibility of tarnishing its brand and getting into difficulty as a result of Nigeria’s lax regulatory environment, which enabled gambling operators to use and leverage the Google platform via their gambling adverts.
Google permits approved operators to place advertisements on their website.
Licensed gaming operators in Nigeria will be pleased to learn that Google has decided to change its advertising policies and will now allow licensed Nigerian gaming operators to use their platforms to market and advertise their gaming services. Google has decided to change its advertising policies and will now permit licensed Nigerian gaming operators to use their platforms to market and advertise their gaming services. This decision was made by Google in the fourth quarter of the current year.
Google has announced that all operators that have a license from the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) are now permitted to promote their online gambling services on the Google search engine results page. It is not just Nigeria that would be affected by this change in Google policy, but also other nations such as Kenya and Colombia. Google has also made changes to its advertising policies for states in the United States that have legalized sports betting.
Licensed operators have the potential to boost income.
Nigerian-facing operators that are licensed by the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) now have the ability to promote their gaming services on Google, allowing them to access a larger segment of the Nigerian gaming market.
Because Google is the largest and most popular search engine in the world, Nigerian operators would aim to spend extensively in the search giant and leverage many platforms provided by the search giant to enter the market and establish their brand identity. The usage of several platforms, like as Google Ads, YouTube, Google Display Network, and AdMob, by Nigerian licensed operators to sell their brand and offer a range of gaming services would now be permitted. A significant amount of money is expected to be invested by the main gaming operators in Nigeria who have a large advertising budget to support their Google advertising expenditure.
It is for a variety of reasons why Nigerian gambling operators would not be stingy with their expenditures when it comes to Google advertising in the country.
In Nigeria, gaming operators are well aware that Google is the most popular search engine and that its overall reach is unrivaled. In addition, Nigerian operators have not had access to Google’s advertising platforms for a number of years and are eager to take full advantage of this opportunity. Operators are also aware that Google’s decision to allow real money gaming ads is subject to change at any time because the Nigerian government could decide at any time to suddenly ban gambling advertisements. In addition, casino operators are aware that Google may modify its real-money gaming policy for Nigeria at any moment, particularly if the firm receives negative press from anti-gambling organizations, who may accuse the search giant of encouraging a gambling culture in the country.