Google has stopped allowing ads for prediction market contracts and related products in Michigan and New York, effective July 13, 2026. Google’s own policy language states the practice is now “prohibited” in both states, closing off product ads in Google Ads for that category to advertisers targeting those markets.
Separately, Google widened eligibility for Shopping ads and free product listings to a batch of additional countries, among them Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, plus Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, and Serbia.
The free-listing piece is the one worth acting on. It lets merchants in those newly eligible countries surface in Google Shopping results without paying for placement, a lower-friction entry point than a paid campaign. Retailers expanding into Southeast Europe or the Baltics should check product feed eligibility now rather than waiting for a paid test to reach the market.
Search Engine Roundtable reported the policy changes on July 15, 2026, citing Google’s advertising policy and Merchant Center documentation.
