Google, Yahoo to Drop Gambling Ads

April 5, 2004

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Google and Yahoo, the two most popular search engines on the Internet, will stop taking advertisements from online gambling firms, effective by the end of the month.

The companies acted as federal authorities prepare to crack down on U.S. companies doing business with online gambling firms located overseas and whose operations are illegal in the United States, the New York Times reported.

Yahoo is allowing the ads to continue to appear in 14 other countries where the company operates Web sites. Yahoo's decision also affects Microsoft Corp.'s MSN site, whose search engine depends on a Yahoo subsidiary, Overture Services, for its online casino ads.

The companies' public statements differed. Yahoo said it dropped the ads because the gambling market is "too risky".

Google's response was more vague. "This change was made as a part of Google's ongoing commitment to enhancing our advertising policies to ensure that we provide the best search and advertising experience to our users," said David Krane, director of corporate communications for Google.

Undaunted, gambling sites are already looking for new ways to promote their $5.7 billion industry. "[Yahoo and Google] may have just written a blank check to a competitor," said BetonSports.com's David Carruthers.

An obscure search engine, GaZabo.com, issued a press release saying "Bring em' on."

"We are happy to give this type of web site and web sites alike the exposure they deserve," the company said in a statement. "We know we are no Google or Yahoo, but we are certainly headed in the right direction."

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