Google now blocks prediction market ads in five states after adding Connecticut

Google now bars prediction market advertisers from targeting users in five US states, after adding Connecticut to a list that already included Michigan, Nevada, New York and Ohio, CDC Gaming reported. The restriction covers Kalshi and every other platform that sells access to exchange-listed event contracts.

Google also gave prediction markets their own section in its main Google Ads policies, Search Engine Roundtable reported on Oct. 14. The policy allows these ads only in approved locations, and only from advertisers that hold every applicable financial, commodity or gaming license, comply with local law and have been certified by Google.

How the list grew

Google began accepting prediction market ads on Jan. 21, subject to certification, according to DeFi Rate. The program covers designated contract markets authorized by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission whose main business is listing event contracts, and brokerages authorized by the National Futures Association that give customers access to them.

Nevada was excluded from the start. Michigan and New York were added in July, and Connecticut's exclusion took effect in early October. Ohio is also on the list. Each of the five states has sued prediction market operators to keep them out, CDC Gaming noted, and sports contracts are already unavailable in Nevada and Michigan.

Google's notice does not explain the Connecticut change. In September, Connecticut regulators issued cease-and-desist orders to nine prediction market platforms and nearly 30 subpoenas to gaming service providers and media companies, Google among them. DeFi Rate cautioned that the timing does not show the subpoenas prompted the policy.

Why it matters for traders

The restriction applies to Google Ads targeting, not to trading. It does not decide whether residents of those states may use a platform, and it does not remove prediction market sites from Google Search. Whether a contract is available in a given state still depends on court orders and on each platform's own geofencing.

It does make customer acquisition harder in states where the legal fight is most intense, and marketing has become part of that fight. Michigan has asked a judge to hold Kalshi in contempt, alleging that sports promotional emails and targeted ads kept reaching Michigan residents after a Sept. 1 injunction barred both the contracts and their marketing. A hearing is set for Nov. 24.

Federal registration lets an exchange or broker apply for Google's program, but it does not override the company's location rules. For a state-by-state view of where prediction markets operate, see our guide to prediction market legality.

What happens next

Google has not said what triggers an exclusion, so platforms that rely on search advertising will be watching the policy's change log as state enforcement spreads. The Michigan contempt hearing on Nov. 24 will show how far courts are willing to go in policing prediction market marketing.